Print edition: 
A new computer software system could reduce overcrowding at the Sedgwick County Jail.
The software will merge information in a way never before possible, which the county hopes will allow workers in the criminal justice system to make faster, more informed decisions about which inmates could be candidates for alternatives to jail.
Instead of wading through separate records databases, they eventually will be able to plug in an inmate's name and cull information about that person from district and municipal courts, the District Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Office and area police departments.
The county has bought the software and is testing it.
The $459,981 system should make it easier to identify people who might succeed in a day-reporting or work-release program, freeing up space in the jail for more serious offenders. The county is trying to avoid expanding the jail, which would require a tax increase. The number of inmates has increased from an average daily population of 1,301 in 2002 to 1,645 last year.
Inmates awaiting trial on felony charges make up the largest population at the Sedgwick County Jail — about 35 percent.
Sheriff Robert Hinshaw recently shared a snapshot of who's in jail with members of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
The snapshot, from Dec. 17, gives a detailed look at the jail's population. But Commissioner Gwen Welshimer argued that it hasn't been enough to help leaders determine who is best suited for alternative programs.
The new system, Welshimer said, "is going to be a very helpful tool, and we should have had it a long time ago. We're behind the times here when we compare ourselves to other jurisdictions."
Welshimer said Justice Concepts Inc., a consultant hired by the county in 2008, was largely behind the effort to modernize information.
However, public safety director Bob Lamkey said that Justice Concepts "had nothing to do with Metatomix." Metatomix is the vendor for the software.
The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the county, he said, had been working on integrating criminal justice information as part of a master plan.
"Our (IT) folks discovered this solution," Lamkey said.
He said that Allen Beck, one of the consultants with Justice Concepts, had been helpful with suggestions about which information to include.
Regardless, having as much information as possible is important, leaders say, because while the county wants to reduce its jail population, it must do so safely.
"We can't just turn them out because there are too many people in jail," Welshimer said.
For example, she said, if you were to rely only on a booking report, "you might see this person in jail for missing a probation appointment."
Missing an appointment, she said, might not seem like something to keep someone in jail over, but "what we don't have on that record is what they did to get on probation."
By the numbers
The jail's average daily population last year was 1,645. The population on the day of the snapshot was 1,619, including 999 who were awaiting trial and 620 who had been sentenced.
Of those inmates:
* 570 were facing trial on felony charges.
* 198 were in jail because they had violated their probation on a felony crime.
* 122 were in jail because of a felony DUI conviction.
* 113 had been sentenced to state prison and were awaiting transfer.
The fastest-growing population from July to December was inmates waiting to go to prison. The Wichita Eagle recently reported that the paperwork that is required before inmates can be transferred to prison is taking 60 to 90 days to process.
The number of such inmates in jail in a July 6 snapshot made up 4.6 percent of the population. By Dec. 17, that number had reached 7 percent.
Sedgwick County District Court Chief Judge James Fleetwood has asked for a tracking system to keep tabs on how long some of the paperwork is taking and is telling his 27 colleagues on the bench to order the paperwork expedited.
Other highlights of the snapshot:
* 427 men and 106 women were classified as a minimum security risk.
* 425 men and 50 women were classified as a medium security risk.
* 494 men and 36 women were classified as a maximum security risk.
* 15 men were classified as high risk.
* 78 percent of male inmates were in jail accused of or convicted on a felony; 22 percent were accused of or convicted on a misdemeanor crime.
* 64 percent of female inmates were in jail accused of or convicted on a felony; 36 percent were accused of or convicted on a misdemeanor crime.
Sheriff Robert Hinshaw noted during a recent meeting that officials can't rely solely on an inmate's crime to determine risk. Someone accused of a violent crime, for example, may be quite calm in a jail environment and not cause problems. Conversely, someone accused of, say, driving without a license may become quite perturbed when arrested and act aggressively in jail.
Hinshaw noted to commissioners that information that is used to classify an inmate to determine where he or she should be housed in the jail is "but a part of what is needed to make the determination whether any particular inmate may be better managed by alternatives to the jail."
