County Jail

The addition to the Chautauqua County jail is finished, yet empty. As reported in today's Post-Journal, the state agency overseeing prisons has refused authorization to begin operation. The state has safety in mind, requiring sufficient staff to protect both guards and inmates, but at the same time, decisions on staffing as related in the article seem completely arbitrary. Either that, or someone at the county level dropped the ball in following the regs to determine the required staff numbers. Somehow, I'm guessing the former.