Housing inmates within county jails can be expensive, and one local sheriff is hoping to partner with other agencies around the Panhandle to not only drive cost down, but help reduce recidivism as well.
For an inmate to be housed in Escambia County, it costs 75 dollars a day. But, while that cost is 48 dollars in Walton County, it’s expected to go up in a few months. Still, no matter the cost, Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson says there are things local county jails can be doing to help each other out.
“The opportunity exists to partner both with Escambia County and regionally to do some really cool things as far as workforce innovation, dealing with some addiction and mental health issues,” he said. “If we go in together, we can drive the cost down. And, ultimately, we’d love to see that in Okaloosa, Bay, Washington, Holmes, and try to get everyone to come together and work on these issues regionally.”
For a few a years now, Walton County has helped Escambia house their inmates, due to a jail explosion.
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