The Pacific County Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 26, 2024, to sever the jail from the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office effective Jan. 1 despite heated contention from some citizens.

Most opponents of the move said it would fail, and the commission would rue the day it made such a “stupid decision.” The decision has resulted in continued public outcry and a recall effort to oust at least one commissioner.

According to local police chiefs, the concerns about the move and predictions that the jail would become a mess are unfounded. South Bend Police Chief Lucas Stigall’s letter to the commissioners details it all.

“It has only been a little over two full months since Director Byrd has taken the helm of the Pacific County Jail and since that time, I have personally met with him on at least four occasions,” Stigall stated in the letter. “Director Byrd has made a diligent effort to build the relationship between the South Bend Police Department and the Pacific County Jail.”

“The very first meeting I had with Director Byrd, he asked ‘How can the jail help your police department?’ I can tell you already, Director Byrd has listened and is implementing what he has said. Director Byrd assured me that the jail will operate as a jail should and a place to put people who commit crimes,” Stigall added.

Room at the inn

After officially taking office, Byrd met with each local agency and discussed ongoing issues, including booking suspects on misdemeanor warrants. Byrd reportedly pledged, which has been confirmed, that each agency will have access to a number of predetermined spots to book and hold non-felony criminals.

“Director Byrd understands the public safety issue we have had in the past where we were unable to book people into jail for various reasons,” Stigall stated in the letter. “The jail is an integral piece of the criminal justice system to help hold offenders accountable for their actions as well as protect our community from victimization.”

Stigall isn’t the only one seeing a new direction of optimism at the jail. Long Beach Police Chief Flint Wright has been “giddy” about the way things are being done now. It’s a direction he says has been missing for many years.

“We have been able, in just the last two weeks, to put people in the jail on misdemeanor warrants, which we haven’t been able to do for a long, long, long time,” Wright said. “We actually now have beds for our cities, and to be able to put someone in a jail without having to beg and cry and stomp my feet is just an amazing thing.”

“[Director] Byrd has done a great job,” Wright added.

One of Wright’s biggest gripes from the past several years has been the difficulty of the jail accepting inmates and the message it sends to criminals.

“For years, having a warrant in Pacific County has meant virtually nothing, basically nothing,” Wright said. “So, you would get guys with five, six or more warrants, but now with the jail [taking] prisoners, it’s going to have an effect, and it’s a positive effect.”

“We had situations with trespassers where we actually told [the callers] there is no reason to call us because we can’t do anything. We can write them another ticket that they won’t show up to court for, and when you have that going on, it is so demoralizing as a police officer. It just is,” Wright added.

The LBPD chief also mentioned that, within the last week or so, he was listening to his radio after ending his shift and heard a suspect get nabbed on the Washington side of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. The individual had 18 active misdemeanor warrants, and the jail said it would take him.

“I think the commissioners made a hard decision, but I think in the end, at least to this point, it has been a benefit for the cities and law enforcement of this county,” Wright said.

Responsive and available

Raymond Police Chief Pat Matlock is also noticing major changes.

“The Raymond Police Department appreciates the work that the entire staff does at the Pacific County Jail,” Matlock said. “Changes in leadership and management are not always well received or easy to adjust to. In the few short months that Director James Byrd has been at the helm, the city of Raymond has received an updated contract agreement for housing those that need a swift and certain consequence to their actions.”

“I have met and talked with Director Byrd on several occasions to share and brainstorm our stakeholder concerns regarding the city of Raymond in relation to the jail and he has always been responsive and available even after business hours. Director Byrd has issued clear and transparent guidelines to our agency allowing dedicated space within the Pacific County Jail to house our offenders,” Matlock added.

The impact of having the ability to put problematic individuals in jail is now being felt from one end of the county to the other.

“Our officers are finding that people they used to see roaming our streets with active arrest warrants are not as visible now,” Matlock said. “When a criminal commits a crime in the city of Raymond, our officers have a jail cell to put them in.”

“Word has gotten around that the Pacific County Jail is open for business, and we know that we have dedicated space. So far as a stakeholder, the new status of the jail as its own entity has allowed our officers to steadily improve public safety within the city of Raymond,” the RPD chief added.