King County is preparing to offer a multi-year extension of contracts with the 36 cities it provides jail services to after a new analysis shows a decline in jail use. The new analysis of jail bed use seems to indicate a trend where construction of new jail space can be slowed, allowing the cities and county more time to explore how best to meet future needs.

Bellevue is one of the cities that contracts with King County.

The county has seen a dramatic drop in felony bookings since late 2007. If the trend continues, the county’s two jails will reach capacity later than the original projection of 2012. In 2001, the county notified its contract cities that they would have to find other jail space after 2012. The cities are currently planning construction of new jails. One proposed site is in Bellevue on 116th Avenue Northeast just south of Southeast Eighth Street.

“This drop in jail use gives us an opportunity to take a more collaborative and regional approach in examining options for future jail space needs,” said King County Executive Kurt Triplett. “Jails are very expensive and it is important that we make the most cost-effective decision for the region.”

The cities and county have been in negotiations since August of 2008 about a possible extension of the 2012 deadline.

King County has combined space for 3,039 inmates at its jails in downtown Seattle and in Kent. It is believed that programs such as alternatives to detention and a prosecutorial change in which crimes are filed as misdemeanors or felonies have helped contributed to the decrease in daily jail populations. Additionally, the jail has seen a 25 percent drop in bookings by Seattle police, its biggest user of jail space.

“If the trend holds we will have capacity to continue our city contracts beyond 2012, but we have to be very careful so that we are not caught short of space in the future” said King County’s Director of Adult and Juvenile Detention Kathy Van Olst. “Our proposed contract extension will provide more certainty for the cities that depend on us. It will also give law enforcement, corrections, courts and jail officials time to dive a little deeper into the calculations, assumptions and booking policies and craft a long term solution that will work most efficiently and cost-effectively for the whole region.”