CITIZENS SUPPORTING A SAFER OCEANA COUNTY

OCEANA COUNTY SHERIFF'S
OFFICE & JAIL FACTS

CALL TO ACTION: Oceana County’s current Sheriff’s Office and Jail Complex has numerous infrastructure challenges which limit the safety, quality, and responsibility of care county officials can provide. Recent studies found renovation attempts would be cost prohibitive in addressing all concerns. Instead, we are encouraging taxpayers to vote YES on August 2, 2022 to support construction of a new, safer justice complex for Oceana County.

CRITICAL FACTS:

  • Current Responsibilities – The sheriff’s office patrols 512 square miles of roads in Oceana County and responds to approximately 4,700 calls for service annually. The sheriff’s office is staffed by 13 corrections deputies and 12 road patrol deputies. Today there are generally two corrections deputies on duty at Oceana County Jail, overseeing 66 inmates.
  • Capacity Concerns – The current jail was built in 1967 (opened in 1968) with capacity for 23 inmates. A 1989 addition of four cells raised capacity to 66. Today, it is very common for the jail to operate at capacity. Current space limitations do not allow proper separation of inmates, causing incidents of violence and putting staff and occupant safety at risk.
  • Compliance Concerns – The current jail in non-compliant in 14 of the 23 Department of Corrections evaluation criteria due exclusively to facility limitations. These compliance issues cannot be addressed through repairs or operational changes. Failure to address non-compliance issues puts the County at risk of lawsuits.
  • Facility Studies – Numerous studies have highlighted needs for infrastructure upgrades. For example, air quality studies found high CO2 levels in most cells and some offices. A comprehensive facility study  by Honeywell in 2021 determined it would cost $4.5-5.5 million dollars to upgrade the heating and cooling systems alone to address air quality concerns. Similarly, the current facility has limited space for inmate medical and other programming needs. A feasibility study by Byce & Associates in 2022 concurred with Honeywell’s assessment, and found that renovations would be cost prohibitive in comparison with new construction in addressing all infrastructure needs and concerns (it would cost taxpayers upwards of $15 million, over the next 5 years, to repair the facility, with zero upgrades supporting officer safety).
  • County Support – The county board of commissioners unanimously have supported this initiative and it will appear on the August 2, 2022 ballot for voters.

TOUR THE JAIL

The Oceana County Sheriff’s Jail Facility is open for public visits on the dates below:

  • Wednesday, July 6th: 3-4 pm & 7-8 pm
  • Wednesday, July 13th: 3-4 pm & 7-8 pm
  • Wednesday, July 20th: 3-4 pm & 7-8 pm
  • Wednesday, July 27th: 3-4 pm & 7-8 pm

If a group would like a tour and the schedule above doesn’t work, contact the Sheriff’s office directly to see if they can accommodate your request

(Must be at least 18yrs old, no cellular phones, knives, weapons of any type allowed.)

VIDEO WALKTHROUGH OF THE EXISTING JAIL FACILITY

EXISTING CONDITIONS SNAPSHOTS