Repeat offenders pose difficulties

Published: Sunday, 7/13/2014 - Updated: 4 hours ago

BY MAYA AVERBUCH BLADE STAFF WRITER

Eddie Butler has been booked in the Lucas County jail 297 times since 1987. Arrested repeatedly through the years as a drug-addicted homeless person, he has been to jail more times than any other offender in the county.

When the National Institute of Corrections released its assessment of Lucas Countys pretrial services in October, 2013, a problem population came to light: Repeat offenders like Butler who clog the jail daily.

Data from the sheriffs office showed that just 6 percent of the jails offenders a total of 996 people accounted for nearly a fifth of the bookings.

The group includes people who were brought to the jail three or more times in the year, often for nonviolent misdemeanors.

Butlers record, for example, includes countless charges of panhandling, public intoxication, drug possession, and disorderly conduct, with a few more serious offenses thrown in.

At the request of the Lucas County Sheriffs Office and Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, more than 40 representatives from jails, prisons, courts, and a variety of community agencies met at the end of March to map out the gaps in assistance for offenders with mental illness and co-occurring disorders, such as substance abuse.

Projects targeted at repeat offenders through intensive case management and prescription medication provisions are under way, but after only a few months, there is little data to measure progress.

These folks are cycling in and out of the courts so fast, nobody can catch up to them, said Scott Sylak, director of the mental health board.

Read more:
Repeat offenders pose difficulties