Sheriff Michael McCormack Takes Case for New County Jail Public

By JOSHUA SABATINI

Amid the uncertainty of acquiring land for a new county jail on the
grounds of Martha's Vineyard Airport, Dukes County sheriff Michael
McCormack has kept busy reminding Island officials that the present jail
and its site at the gateway to Edgartown's historic district is
simply inadequate.

He launched a similar campaign when he first took office in January
1999.

This week, Sheriff McCormack gave the Gazette a tour of the current
facility, discussing the building's history and highlighting the
poor conditions.

Sheriff McCormack most recently made his case before the county
commissioners last week and airport commission this week. At both
meetings, he was supported by many of the Island's police chiefs
and public safety personnel.

The county commissioners agreed unanimously last week that the
present jail is in poor condition, posing a threat to the jail staff and
inmates. They believe a new site is needed, and are pursuing 24.4 acres
of land for a new jail at the airport's northeast quadrant.

The sheriff calls the site perfect because it is centrally located
and in no one's backyard.

There are a number of obvious problems with the present facility:

The only woman's cell is 10.5 feet by 6.5 feet, with no
windows in sight. The small kitchen area, part of which was expanded
beyond the original house frame to create room for refrigerators, is
used to cook 100 meals a day, 365 days a year. The basement ceiling is
loaded with a network of exposed wiring, posing a fire risk. Holes
around the basement show signs of rodent infestation.

Space is at a premium - a room called the multipurpose room is
the only area for dining, visiting and any other programs. A roof below
a second-story window often has items thrown up on it from the outside
of the building for inmates to try to pick up; this can happen because
there is no adequate fencing around the front and sides of the building.

According to the sheriff, the jail was once located where the Dukes
County courthouse now stands, but then was moved out of town to its
present site on one-and-a-quarter acres of land.

Construction of the two-story building began in 1873; occupants
moved in by 1874. It was built with 12 single cells. At the time, the
inmate population was at the most two.

"It served its purpose - it lasted; it's still
here almost 130 years later," Sheriff McCormack said.
"However, over the years the physical building itself has
deteriorated even though lots of money has been spent for its upkeep and
maintenance."

All the utilities and plumbing were installed later, which explains
why the plumbing pipes and electrical wires run outside the walls
parallel to the granite and brick cells.

Sheriff McCormack knows the building well. He and his wife moved
into the home in 1973 - the building's 100-year anniversary
- to act as the facility's superintendent, although they
have since moved, in part to free up space.

As time went on, he said, the inmate population grew to about six,
gradually increasing more over the years.

One factor contributing to inmate growth, said Sheriff McCormack,
was that the Massachusetts legislature started to pass mandatory
incarceration laws. Crimes such as certain drug offenses and second
offenses of operating under the influence of alcohol became jailable.

"As a result, everyone throughout the commonwealth experienced
a real spike in their jail populations," he said.

The spike, he added, caused the state in the mid-1980s to respond by
constructing new jail facilities throughout the state.

During that period, said Mr. McCormack, former sheriff Christopher
Look requested a replacement facility and used state grant money to
develop a study. The study, released in 1990, recommended the northeast
quadrant of the Martha's Vineyard airport grounds as the ideal
site for a new jail.

"The study was put on the shelf," said Sheriff
McCormack.

Nine years later, he went to the county commissioners and asked for
a citizens' task force to study the jail; the study was finished
in 11 months.

Both studies found that the present jail is woefully inadequate.

"Because of the age of the facility, the crowdedness, its
location and safety factors, I went to the commission in 1999," he
said.

The jail population had grown to an average of 34 by that time
- an increase in activity that did not go unnoticed by neighbors.

Nearby residents complained, he said, about the language overheard
from inmates playing basketball, the lights of the police cruisers
transporting inmates, the sounds of arrestees arriving "in a less
than courteous manner" and the lights put up to illuminate the
parking lot behind the jail.

"Just the unsightliness of turning what was once a field from
the back of the jail down to the end of Pine street into parking areas
and recreational areas started to bother neighbors," he added.

But most important, said the sheriff, are safety issues. The cell
blocks do not have a secondary means of exit. The brick and granite
cells are attached to the wooden structure of the original house frame.
He said that the wood is very dried out; if there were ever a fire, the
wood structure would go up, he said, and inmates would have to run
through the flames or stay in their cells until rescued.

The cell locks are also a problem, he said. They are old and there
is no universal key for them. It takes two hands to open the lock, one
to turn the key, another to turn the latch.

"The potential here for a human tragedy is great," said
Sheriff McCormack.

While the need for a new facility is not hotly contested, some
questions have been raised. One concern is that a new jail would house
state prisoners and those who have committed high crimes.

Sheriff McCormack said the transfer of a state inmate can only occur
with permission by the sheriff of the county. Inmates on the state
level, he said, are mostly high-security, high-risk people.

"By constructing a medium to minimum-security system with more
dormitory-style housing or multiple cell occupancy, that would prevent
the maximum-security inmates from being here," he said.

Size is a big issue for the sheriff. With an average daily inmate
population of 34, the current facility just barely meets demand with 36
beds, although without ideal conditions.

Looking 25 years ahead, he said, the task force considered a variety
of factors such as cells for those waiting trial and cells for juveniles
under the age of 17.

The jail's needs are as follows: thirty beds for lockup, four
for women, four for juveniles, and 34 for the current population. In
sum, the task force recommended a new facility with 78 beds, although
that number, the sheriff said, is negotiable.

At peak times in the summer, somewhere between 30 and 35 people can
be arrested, whether at "a huge party busted up or a real problem
on Circuit avenue," he said.

"Presently, if large groups were arrested we had to handcuff
them to the chain-link fence outside, or handcuff them on a bar inside a
converted bus," said Sheriff McCormack. "We have been
creative over the years, but we are pushing the envelope of
liability."

To those who wonder if locking up more people is a proper policy,
Sheriff McCormack said, "During the task force study, many said
the great majority of people incarcerated are not really criminals, but
were people with substance abuse issues and shouldn't be
incarcerated."

The sheriff thought such a claim was correct. In response, he
created a community corrections program as an alternative to
incarceration for offenders who have committed a crime and have
substance abuse issues.

He said instead of being in jail, such offenders undergo substance
abuse counseling, must perform community service hours, can get a G.E.D.
if need be and receive life-skills training.

The sheriff said the average daily population of the program is
eight to 14.

"The safety issues for people who work here and live here are
my greatest concern," he said. "The liability to the
community, should there ever be a disaster here, would be greater than
the cost of replacing the facility now."

If the sheriff is allowed to use the site on the airport grounds, in
all likelihood he would receive state funding for the new jail. He
estimated it would take three years for the facility to be up and
running once the site is approved.

"Meanwhile, what am I going to do for the next three
years?" he asked.

One thing he is doing is using an old classroom building, 60 feet by
20 feet, from the Edgartown elementary school, and attempting to tack it
on to the back for more space - half for cells, half for day
rooms. Other work is going on as well, such as a new booking room,
developed off the back of the original house structure. Every inch of
the home is being used, and additional space has been added using some
creative thinking.

For instance, the room where the sheriff was interviewed occupied a
third of what was once the home's living room.

"This is the office the assistant deputy chief uses," he
said. "I don't have an office, I share this. There
isn't enough room in here for my own office.

"Any member of the public can come and take a look, and I can
almost guarantee anyone who sees the facility will agree there is a need
to replace the facility."