Kotzebue jail closing justified, court rules

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS

An Alaskan Superior Court judge has ruled that Kotzebue was justified when it shut down the northwest Alaska’s only regional jail last year rather than continue to subsidize the facility, reports the Anchorage Daily News.

Until last year, Kotzebue was one of 15 communities that operated jails for Alaska’s department of corrections. The department paid for its operations, but hadn’t raised its subsidy rates in years. The community had to absorb the difference.

Kotzebue used other money to subsidize its jail, but when this funding disappeared due to Alaska’s ongoing fiscal crisis, Kotzebue asked for an additional $331,000 to cover costs, for a total of $920,000. Alaska said $589,000 should be enough to operate the 14-bed facility. Kotzebue disagreed and closed the jail on July 1, 2003.

Now lawyers say it’s more difficult to talk with their clients. Prisoners can’t meet with Kotzebue-area family members or friends. Alaska State Troopers must fly inmates to Kotzebue from Nome, about 300 kilometres away, for every court date.

While in Kotzebue, prisoners are confined in small, chain-link cells. Measuring six feet by seven feet, the chain-link pens have no toilets or sinks; prisoners must be escorted to use the bathroom. At times, two or three people share a cell. If weather keeps them in Kotzebue overnight, mattresses are placed on the floor.