King County Cutting Jail Population To Slow Coronavirus

SEATTLE, WA — King County is working to cut the jail population to 1,200 so that the incarcerated can stay in single bunks in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus within correctional facilities.

To put that number in perspective, the county started March with 1,940 jailed adults, and had cut that number to 1,638 by Tuesday. The King County Executive's office says the moves are necessary not just to stop the spread of coronavirus among inmates but also to protect jail employees and free up the space needed to isolate anyone who is at a higher risk of getting seriously ill.

To continue to cut the jail population, King County Executive Dow Constantine signed an Executive Order Tuesday making the following changes:

• Limiting the types of new bookings jails will take. Moving forward jails will not accept anyone brought in on a misdemeanor charges, unless the charges involve assault, restraining order violations, DUI's, sex crimes or charges that pose a "serious public safety concern."
• Delaying all misdemeanor "commitment sentences" at the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. Commitment sentences are cases where someone who is not already in jail is ordered to report to the jail later to serve time. Instead, they will serve their sentences after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
• Jails will also no longer take anyone who has been arrested for violating community supervision, and will return anyone who is in county custody back to state custody.

Constantine says this move is vital to protect as many people as possible from the virus:

"We are working with every partner in the criminal justice system – courts, public defenders, prosecutors, corrections, and law enforcement – to maintain public safety and ensure the health and safety of everyone in our correctional facilities, including our employees who work on the front lines. Quickly and safely reducing the number of people who are in custody will provide our healthcare professionals the space they need to follow recommendations by Public Health. These emergency actions reflect our values to protect the lives and safety of every King County resident."

Before Tuesday's executive order, King County had earlier made several changes to increase safety, including cancelling public visitations, transferring high risk inmates and inmates 60 and older to a separate secure locations, extra medical screenings for staff and visitors, and more thorough cleaning of jail facilities.