Police to use ‘cite and release’ policy to ease jail overcrowding

By Nina Earnest

U. Iowa police say a new “cite and release” policy will help prevent jail overcrowding, which Johnson County officials feared would increase due to a planned boost in police enforcement of tailgating this football season.

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said he fears the UI’s new “Think Before You Drink” program — which emphasizes a crack down on alcohol-related charges during tailgating hours —will result in more arrests, and therefore create more overcrowding at the already overbooked jail.

Pulkrabek said he felt he didn’t have an appropriate chance to offer input on the proposed tailgating changes, which also affect him and his staff.

Charles Green, the vice president for the UI police, responded he had told Pulkrabek about the changes shortly before announcing them to the public.

Green also said officers are implementing the cite and release policy this season to help avoid the type of increased jail overcrowding Pulkrabek fears.

Under the changes, people cited for simple misdemeanors such as PAULA and public urination will be ticketed but not arrested. Those who would have once been taken to jail or a holding cell at Kinnick Stadium will now be released to a sober friend or family member.

Some of the charges under this policy wouldn’t have generated arrests anyway, Green said.

“The city and the county benefit from all the football games that come to the city,” he added. “To think that there won’t be problems that arise from this is unrealistic.”

Green said officers want to make sure arrests are reasonable and don’t add to the burden on the overcrowded jail.

He said an Ohio State game once contributed to “dangerous levels” at the jail. At that game, authorities took 174 people to the county jail, Pulkrabek said.

“I vowed to my staff I wouldn’t let that happen to them again,” he said.

The jail houses more than 80 inmates out of county; on football weekends, jail staff take 15 to 20 people to other facilities at the taxpayers’ expense.

The new tailgating regulations include checkpoints for cars leaving the Kinnick area and a time limit on tailgating after the game. Officers say they will be more vigilant in enforcing existing laws on public urination and open alcohol containers.

Officials have said they would issue warnings to people overstaying the allotted tailgating time — two hours after Kinnick is empty — or carrying open alcohol containers and only arrest those whose behavior had become unreasonable.

But the new regulations have one caveat: If Kinnick’s holding cell gets too full, people will still be sent to the county jail, Green said.


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