Cole and Callaway counties mirror a national trend of growth in inmate population that's seen in a 45-year analysis of jail statistics.
The Vera Institute of Justice found smaller counties, like Cole and Callaway, now hold 44 percent of the overall total jail population in the United States, up from just 28 percent in 1978.
Jail use continues to rise though crime rates have declined since peaking in 1991, the analysis shows. Blacks are jailed at nearly four times the rate of whites, and the number of women in jail has grown 14-fold since 1970, according to the Vera report.
Exactly what's behind that trend is not clear, but experts say a range of factors likely contribute, from law enforcement's increased use of summonses and traffic tickets to the closing of state mental hospitals in that time.
Officials with the Cole County Sheriff's Department provided statistics showing the growth in the jail population over the last five years. The new jail opened in 2011.
Total inmates processed into the Cole County Jail were 6,795 in 2011; 7,523 in 2012; 6,450 in 2013; and 6,474 in 2014. By the end of 2015, officials project the total to be more than 6,000.
The average daily total jail population in 2015 was approximately 131 inmates per day.
The average stay for a prisoner in the Cole County Jail is 25 days.
Over the past two years, the Callaway County Jail has many times been near full capacity of 109 beds, and the female population has grown at a high rate.
"When the Callaway County Jail was built, it was only designed to hold 10 female inmates," said Lt. Clay Chism. "At times the past few years, we have housed between 18-22 females daily. This has created housing issues within the jail, to the point the female population had to be relocated to a larger holding area that previously served the work-release inmates."
Chism said many factors cause this growth.
"Most notably, within the last year, many domestic violence offenders have been charged with felony offenses," he said. "We have also seen a spike in sexual abuse cases, mainly child sex cases or child pornography cases. Also, as the Fulton State Hospital continues to increase its client population, the Callaway County Sheriff's Office is tasked with investigating the criminal offenses those clients commit, primarily assaults to hospital staff."
One of the main goals for the new Cole County Jail was to house more federal prisoners for the potential of bringing in more money to the county.
Jail officials said Cole County housed an average of 40 federal inmates per day in 2015.
Callaway County also holds five to 10 federal prisoners when bed space permits.
Authorities did not divulge specifics of the federal charges these prisoners were held on; however, they said these prisoners were "very peaceful inmates" and did not create issues within the inmate population.
Unlike state prisons that hold inmates doing lengthy terms, county jails are generally used to house pre-trial detainees or those who have been sentenced to serve stints of a year or less for relatively minor crimes. More serious felony cases, such as murder, many times take three or more years to finalize. Many inmates serve at least six months in county jail before being released, whether it be time served, release to probation or transfer to prison. Most county jail sentences on misdemeanor cases range from 10 days to six months.
"It should be noted, earlier this year when the Callaway jail was at capacity, the sheriff's office conducted a close examination of the charges each inmate was housed for," Chism said. "At that time, less than 5 percent of the inmates were being held on misdemeanor charges. To this day, nearly all Callaway County Jail inmates are pre-trial on felony charges. While some across the nation have asserted that jails are full of misdemeanor offenders, that is not the case in Callaway County. Our jail is housing primarily felony offenders, whereas most misdemeanors offenders bond out or receive summons to appear in court."
The Cole County Commission recently turned down a request for three new jailers. After this and the findings of the Vera report came out, the News Tribune asked Jail Administrator Victor Pitman about staffing levels and if there was a strain on the staff.
He said the minimum staffing is five at the jail: three in fixed control areas and two utility officers. The utility officers, or "rovers," supervise inmates in the housing unit and control inmate movement and services.
Sometimes, booking and utility staff are supported by part-time jailers during peak periods. "However, the majority of the time, the staff has to work very hard and are very busy keeping up with the workload," he said.
Jail staff also has to transport prisoners to and from mental institutions/hospitals, etc. These duties, combined with staff sickness/injuries/vacant positions contribute "added stress on jail staff" over time, he said.
In Callaway County, Chism said the jail is staffed with a jail administrator, jail lieutenant, jail administrative staff member and 18 corrections officers to serve a 24/7 operation.
With high turnover, it is common for three or more positions to be open at any given time. The jail's budget consists of about half of the sheriff's entire budget, he said.