New jail on the way, officials say
By Bill Donovan
Special to the Times
WINDOW ROCK, May 19, 2011
Construction of new jails - the first in more than 30 years - is underway in Tuba City and Kayenta with plans to build more in the next year or two in other areas of the reservation.
The construction is being financed with a combination of federal stimulus money and loans taken out by the Navajo Nation. All told, more than $100 million will be spent in the next two years on facilities to handle the growing number of Navajos being locked up for violent crimes, officials said.
Existing jails are overcrowded and decrepit, and the tribe is under a consent decree imposed by the Navajo Nation courts after DNA People's Legal Services Inc. filed suit almost 20 years ago to demand improvements.
Currently, corrections officials and prosecutors meet almost daily to decide which prisoners to release in order to make space for new arrivals. The question is always who poses the least threat to society, and the answer is not always clear, officials say.
But those days will soon be over as the new jails will provide hundreds of additional beds.
"We are now doing ground work on the new jail in Tuba City," said Delores Greyeyes, director of corrections for the tribe.
This will become the biggest jail on the reservation with 132 beds. The 144,000-square-foot facility will cost $61 million and will include space for the courts and law enforcement programs serving the Tuba City District.
The facility will also include space for programs to help the inmates deal with issues such as alcoholism and violent behavior, Greyeyes said.
"This will be like one-stop shopping where people will be able to go to handle any of their law enforcement needs," she said.
The Tuba City complex is expected to be ready of occupancy in August 2012.
Currently, the courts are allowing the Corrections Department to use the juvenile detention facility in Tuba City to house prisoners until a new site is found for the mobile units used since the old jail was condemned and closed. The jail trailers had to be moved because they are on the site of the new jail facility.
No one stays long at the Tuba City jail and it has been a holding facility for years, keeping prisoners two or three days before they are sent to another jail for a longer stay.
Work is also underway to build an 80-bed jail facility in Kayenta, Greyeyes said.
This one will cost $32 million and will mainly be a jail, although there will be space for support staff. That building is expected to open about the same time as the Tuba City facility.
The tribe also has another jail fully funded for Crownpoint and construction of the 48-bed facility is expected to get underway in August. It will cost $42 million facility will also include space for the courts and tribal police.
The building is being financed by a BIA grant and tribal loans, and is expected to be ready for use in late 2012 or early 2013.
The tribe is also planning to build a new 48-bed jail in Chinle in the near future and Greyeyes said funding is being sought to build new jails in Window Rock and Shiprock within the next few years.
One issue still to be addressed, however, is the cost of operating the new facilities.
The Tuba City jail complex alone will take an additional 151 guards and support staff, and will cost the tribe some $7.3 million a year to run. Kayenta will need 52 more people to staff it.
The Division of Public Safety will be seeking these funds, as well as the funds to operate all of the other jails, when it comes to the Navajo Nation Council for its fiscal 2013 budget.
At that point, the Council may need to come up with as much as $15 million more to operate the jails, and Greyeyes said she's not sure the tribe can do it all at once.
"We may have to look at opening up the jail facilities in phases," she said, adding that all of the jails are being built in sections to allow for that option.
One possible source of funding could be the tribe's gaming profits.
Currently, gaming profits are being poured into additional casino development, but starting as early as 2013, some of the profits could go to other uses.
Work on hiring and training the additional jail staff will start months before the jails are ready for use, Greyeyes noted.