Oct. 5, 2025

Jeff Lavey: Idaho’s Jail Crunch, 911 Failures, and Who Pays When Offenders Flee

Jeff Lavey: Idaho’s Jail Crunch, 911 Failures, and Who Pays When Offenders Flee
Season 2

A blunt statewide reality check with Jeff Lavey, Executive Director of the Idaho Sheriffs Association. We cover why county jails are breaking, why Idaho is still on analog 911, what it really costs to stash state inmates in county facilities, and who picks up the bill when offenders abscond across state lines.

Highlights

  • 0:00 – Opening + why the Sheriff Series matters; sheriffs as the community’s closest ear.

  • 1:58 – Jail funding: counties must run jails, but supermajority bonds stall new builds; Latah shifts inmates to Nez Perce; Canyon’s failed bonds; Ada misses by one vote.

  • 4:36 – Liability & standards: ACLU risk, humane requirements, and the price of old infrastructure.

  • 12:10 – “Best of the worst”: daily release triage when beds run out.

  • 13:23 – Analog 911 vs. Next Gen: 20-year-old tech Idaho hasn’t adopted; 140 documented failures; Owyhee “ghost calls”; why fiber + location updates matter.

  • 18:09 – Funding stuck in the ’80s: $1 + $0.25 line fees haven’t kept pace; grant pool too small; cell billing addresses misroute money out of Idaho.

  • 24:02 – State inmates in county jails: prisons full, counties eating the gap; state pays $55/$75, real cost ≈ $140/day.

  • 31:25 – 14 jails failed inspection (overcrowding); 11 failed due to state inmates.

  • 33:30 – Idaho sends inmates to AZ private prison; counties need bed-sharing visibility statewide.

  • 37:59 – Absconders: when state inmates flee, counties pay to fly them back; proposal to shift cost to the state stalled—bill may return.

  • 46:22 – Growth reality: Treasure Valley nearing 1M; public safety is necessary—and expensive.

Sponsor: Thanks to Old Arms of Idaho — your firearms, Western & military collectibles specialists.