The brand new jail in Asotin County is up and running, but still needs more manpower to make it run smoothly. The move-in date was originally expected to be in late September, but Jail Commander Nathan Uhlorn says they kept running into problems that needed to be fixed. He says eventually, they just decided on a hard date, knowing they’d still need to fix the small things that popped up once the building was in use. One serious benefit they’ve found at the new building is that having 8 holding cells for incoming inmates is much better than 2.
“You were always rushed, because if you had a male and a female, that took up both. Those people had to get booked in ASAP because another arrest was coming in and you had to use that cell. Whereas here, they can stack up because here we have 24 hours to get the same thing done that before you had 15 minutes.
Uhlorn went on to say it’s not just the employees who are enjoying the upgraded facility, the inmates seem to be much happier as well.
So far they’re loving it. They’ve got TV. People always think of that as a luxury, but it’s also a behavioral tool, it’s something you can take away from people who don’t have very much.
Uhlorn says they also have tablets the inmates could use, but they still need to get used to the technology they have now before adding anything new. He says he also needs more, good corrections officers, so if you’re interested, contact the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office.
