Sheriff David Rhodes provided an update to the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors this morning on the final phase of the opening of the Yavapai County Criminal Justice Center. Sheriff Rhodes began his presentation with “This is a big week – we can finally say that the Criminal Justice Center is fully operational and fully staffed”.
The Criminal Justice Center (CJC) which is comprised of the Superior Court, the Detention Center, and the Re-entry Connections Center, is the culmination of a 27-year project that began with a population explosion in the county in the 1990s.
The building of the Detention Center is in response to a late 1990s Department of Justice investigation that determined the Camp Verde Detention Center was over capacity and suffering issues related to the overcrowding. The situation was made worse with the closing of the old Gurley Street jail in Prescott that was closed due to outdated facility design. The new Detention Center in Prescott opened in July 2023 through a phased in approach, with the center now housing inmates.
Sheriff Rhodes highlighted a few benefits to the new CJC, including the cost savings of $2 million a year in inmate transportation costs between Camp Verde jail and the Prescott Court and back. In addition, no longer requiring law enforcement to drive across the county to book inmates allows for officers and deputies to remain on the streets and not out of service due to hours of transit. Another innovative benefit is the co-located Re-entry Connections Center which is home to the Reach Out Program that seeks to reduce recidivism (currently down to 16% from a high of 50%), and to Polara Health Care which provides Title 36 behavioral health services for mentally ill inmates.
Sheriff Rhodes concluded with the initiatives that have helped the agency to become fully staffed, including a salary increase approved by the Board of Supervisors, and recruitment and retention bonuses for staff that was provided through a grant from the Arizona Legislature.
To see Sheriff Rhodes full presentation, you may find it at https://youtu.be/wdf43znKcYE
