“People are still being brought in for low-level misdemeanors, non-violent fourth-degree misdemeanors, traffic offenses...” she said. “The people who are in here are not all heinous criminals. That’s the point I want to make.”
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said of the 700 inmates in jail Tuesday, 516 were booked in on felony charges.
Before COVID-19, the jail averaged about 850 inmates at a time. That number decreased to around 450 in March at the beginning of the pandemic. The number has gone up steadily since businesses reopened this summer.
Haire said her clients have told her that social distancing inside the jail is impossible and cells are overcrowded. The advocates say having a high number of inmates creates danger for inmates, employees and the community.
“It shouldn’t be that way, especially with an epidemic going on — where we are freaking out about it out here,” said Daj’za Demmings, the executive director of Dayton Young Black Professionals. ”Being stacked (in the jail), for you, if it’s not an issue, it is for them. It’s an issue for the people who are stacked in here, catch COVID, bring it to their families, and then after that bring it to the community. That’s the issue.”
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said they are working tirelessly to ensure the safety of inmates and staff and have implemented more rigorous cleaning and COVID-19 precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. The sheriff’s office said they are also working closely with Public Health Dayton-Montgomery County to learn and implement best practices.
The sheriff’s office spokesperson said they have been successful at keeping COVID-19 out of the jail. At one point recently, the jail went 19 days without an inmate testing positive, and only one person in the jail has COVID-19 now.
“Inmates can request testing through the kiosk system,” the office said in a statement. “Inmates are then examined by a physician for signs and symptoms. If signs and symptoms present, they are immediately isolated and tested based on the physician’s recommendation.”
The office also said there are about 300 people who are booked in and out of jail a week.
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