Drug arrests help keep jail full
By Bob Robinson 

GREENVILLE – “Heroin addiction is out of control,” said Chief Deputy Mark Whittaker. “We’re seeing it in numbers I’ve never seen in the 18 years I’ve been here.” 

Whittaker added the coroner, Dr. Tim Kathman has never seen this many heroin related deaths either. 

The Sheriff’s Office has been under increasing pressure to deal with it. 

“We pulled a car off the road to handle the work load,” he said. It is one of the reasons the jail is often full to capacity. Or more. 

“There have only been 11 days since the beginning of the year we haven’t had someone housed in another county jail.” Whittaker said they seem to be averaging three males and one female in Mercer County… at a cost of $50-$60 a day. 

While the primary case load is in the hands of Sgt. Chris Clark, some cases go to other detectives. According to Whittaker, there are too many cases to put all of them on one officer. 

A quick review of the jail population indicated 42 individuals currently incarcerated. 

Whittaker said he asked Clark to read through the names on the roster… 

“How many do you know – either through prior experience or gathered intelligence – who are involved in or have a history of drugs?” 

“In excess of 50 percent,” Clark had answered. 

The jail was built according to 1982 statistics. It is designed to hold 36 inmates. There is another room that sometimes can be expanded to add four more… “There must be two others in another county,” Whittaker added. 

Whittaker said drug investigations are extremely important… but less so when they have to be prioritized against sex offenses and other violent crimes. 

“A user, or abuser, is committing a crime against himself. A trafficker or sex offender is committing a crime against society.” 

It doesn’t stay that way, however. Bottom line? 

“A person addicted to drugs is not a productive member of society. And drugs aren’t free. The addict has no choice but to turn to other forms of criminal activity to pay for them.” 

The typical population at the jail is for a variety of offenses, often including violation of parole. However a check of the criminal history of the inmate will usually find a drug or alcohol offense in previous incarcerations. 

The increased attention on drug users has had what Whittaker refers to as a trickle down effect. 

More drug indictments mean more prosecutions. More prosecutions mean more court cases. They don’t necessarily mean more prison time. 

“With the legislature restructuring sentencing guidelines, there is less prison time and more community control. For every person who goes to jail that’s $60 out of our budget.” 

Whittaker added the daily out-of-county cost isn’t the only expense, noting there are transportation costs as well. If they have to make a court appearance, they have to be picked up, brought to the courthouse, then returned to the county housing them. 

“Who we choose to send is dictated by level of crime,” he said. He noted if the City of Greenville or the Village of Versailles requires jail time for certain violations, the charges are the city or village’s responsibility. 

Along with the increase in drug abuse there has been an increase in sex offense prosecutions. Whittaker didn’t think the two were related. 

“That mentality has to be there prior to any drug abuse,” he said. 

While the volume of child and sex abuse cases has increased, Whittaker didn’t believe the volume of offenses has. 

“Thirty years ago it was kept in the closet. It isn’t that way today. We are encouraged to talk about it. And naturally that number will continue to grow.” 

Whittaker added one final note. 

“You are only seeing the ones we indicted. You don’t see all the others that we just can’t get enough information on.” 

Published courtesy of The Early Bird