The proposed closure of Onondaga County’s Jamesville Correctional Facility has generated plenty of debate. The plan calls for moving the corrections officers and inmates to the downtown Justice Center to address a staffing shortage. Now, county lawmakers appear ready to vote Tuesday to make those personnel changes effective April 1st. WAER's Scott Willis paid a visit to Jamesville.
The first thing you notice when you arrive is just how quiet it is…at least it was on Friday when the bitter cold and snow might have been a factor. The visitor’s parking lot was nearly empty, and no one was in the main lobby. But Jamesville is also a far less busy place on any day. It’s at less than a quarter of its 538 bed capacity, and that’s one of the reasons behind the county executive Ryan McMahon’s plan to shut it down.
“You have over 80 employees you have essentially 40 to 60 sentenced inmates it's not efficient," McMahon said.
That total doesn’t include about 60 inmates from the Justice Center. He attributes the empty cells to changes in federal and state laws…from the legalization of marijuana to bail reform that’s resulted in fewer sentenced inmates who would typically end up at Jamesville. While that facility is overstaffed, McMahon says Justice Center is short-handed.
“We have a staffing crisis at the Justice Center. What happens is we have to send unsentenced inmates to Jamesville with sentenced inmates. When that happens we can't get those inmates back to their court appearances in a timely fashion.”
Sheriff Toby Shelley took office January first.
“Just the fact that I'm not part of these conversations is a diminishment of my power," Shelley told county lawmakers last week.
He says he was never told about the missed court dates, which could expose the county to lawsuits, nor the plan to close Jamesville.
“The sheriff should have been part of these conversations from the beginning," Shelley said. "How am I going to argue a resolution when I don't have proper legal counsel? I'm not sure why we have to rush this. If it's a good idea, it'll pass the test of time.”
Sister Maura Rhode is a sister of St. Joseph who’s been providing religious services to both inmates and officers at Jamesville three days a week for 34 years.
“I love going up there. There's always the hope that the inmates will not come back.”
Sister Maura doesn't understand why the sheriff is being put in this position.
“Sheriff Shelley needs the time. Why rush it to try to get it closed by April? I mean, he just came in. Come on, give the man a chance.”
She says inmates tell her that Jamesville and the Justice Center are far different places. Both offer religious services, but sheriff's office officials say they might not be as convenient if the Justice Center is more crowded. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the county executive says in an email that frequent lock-downs due to staff shortages at the justice center means religious services and other activities might be more limited. Justin Sayles says bringing on the Jamesville officers should limit the lockdowns.
Still, Sister Maura worries about the impact on inmates who likely won’t have access to her and other religious leaders if they’re moved downtown.
"They know that they are loved. They are respected. They are human beings. God doesn't make junk," Rhode said. "The officers at Jamesville are really really good with the inmates. They will call if somebody knows somebody is having a rough time or they just got bad news and they'll call us to come down."
She says the Justice Center would not be a good fit for her if Jamesville closes.
Sheriff Toby Shelley feels the same way about his corrections officers. They’ll still have jobs, but those with seniority might lose desirable shifts once they’re melded in with Justice Center staff. Shelley warned lawmakers this could make the staffing problem worse, not better.
"We will lose people 20 to 40 we think we're going to bring them from Jamesville [to] downtown. It's not going to work." Shelley told lawmakers. "People will leave and then go to any surrounding county anywhere in New York State and easily get a job.”
Shelley also cautioned that if the justice center absorbs Jamesville’s population, there will be very little room to separate inmates from rival gangs or a COVID outbreak. Officers at both facilities are also represented by different unions, which could lead to legal or other complications. County Executive McMahon doesn’t seem too concerned. He says closing Jamesville addresses several issues related to staffing.
“Your exacerbated arraignment problems are gone because the Justice Center connects to the courthouse and at the same time the taxpayer is going to save $5 to $10 million. It's a no brainer," McMahon said. "I met with the sheriff, who said he wanted more time. There is no amount of time we can give to hire enough people.”
County lawmakers are expected to vote Tuesday barring last minute information that could cause the item to be pulled from the agenda. Otherwise, Jamesville could close by April first.
