Print edition: 
The schism between Sedgwick County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer and Sheriff Robert Hinshaw became more evident Wednesday when she shared her ideas for managing the jail.
Frustrated by what she called indecision about how to best manage the county's inmate population, Welshimer presented a plan that she said looks at the trees instead of the forest.
It calls for a focus on mental health services to keep people out of jail in the first place, remote booking stations for law enforcement in cities within the county, expanded alternative programs and a staff member who would focus on jail issues and work for commissioners.
Growth at the jail has been one of the county's most overriding, expensive and time-consuming concerns.
The inmate population has declined in recent months, but Hinshaw — and others — say the overall trend points to a need for more space. Adding jail space could force the commission to increase property taxes.
The average daily population at the jail from January through June was 1,537 compared with 1,612 for the same period last year, County Manager William Buchanan reported Wednesday.
Welshimer, who will face a challenger in her re-election bid in November, said the county shouldn't add onto its jail or build a new one because that "will only fuel more jail population growth. We need a realistic approach to facilities for our jail population problem, one that truly addresses the core needs of our community."
Hinshaw criticized Welshimer's report for lacking innovation and new ideas.
"Overall to me, the document wasn't well- supported by facts. It was just a series of conclusory statements," he said.
Hinshaw said many of the ideas Welshimer presented were first supported by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, a group of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and city and county leaders. He is chairman of the group, commonly called the CJCC. Welshimer also serves on it.
Hinshaw said he was disappointed Welshimer had not talked to him about her plan.
"I would think since I'm charged by law to run the jail she would also want to have my input," he said.
Welshimer, elected in 2006, and Hinshaw, elected in 2008, have butted heads several times.
Welshimer said she didn't talk to the sheriff about her plan because "he's made it very clear to the commission that he wants a jail campus. There's been no change in his opinion that I could see, and I'm just presenting mine."
Commissioners voted unanimously to forward Welshimer's report to the CJCC. Its next meeting is Aug. 26.
Help for mentally ill
Much of Welshimer's report focused on services for people with mental illnesses.
A 2005 study by Wichita State University and Comcare, the county's mental health center, found that 62 percent of inmates were current or former mental health clients. Last year, that number was at 47 percent.
"I believe that a focus on the mentally ill is an approach we can all agree on," Welshimer said. "Our jail population overload is the result of not recognizing the size of the mental health problem we have in this community."
But Welshimer said the jail should not be a provider of psychiatric care. Rather, she said, the county should — if warranted — add additional treatment facilities.
Hinshaw's budget for the Sheriff's Office includes a request to create a "mental health pod" at the jail where 49 inmates identified as having mental illnesses could be housed together.
Welshimer said the county could use jail fees it receives to expand mental health services.
"I want to see people who need treatment never get in there (the jail) in the first place," she said.
Sedgwick County District Court Judge Richard Ballinger said the CJCC showed a lot of insight when it pushed for alternative programs.
He agreed that the county needs to better serve people with mental illnesses so they avoid jail.
"The least amount of money can have the most substantial impact on the target population," he said.
Jail liaison proposed
Welshimer is advocating that the county hire a jail liaison who would work for commissioners and whose job would "be to keep the traffic flowing through, reporting problems to commissioners and users of the jail and coordinating solutions to the problems."
The liaison also would evaluate how to make the best use of jail space and track inmates who need treatment or other services.
Welshimer noted that Hinshaw is elected and "an elected person doesn't have to answer to another elected person. He's also our jail manager, so he's sort of our employee at the same time."
Hinshaw also said the liaison would serve the job that he thinks members of the CJCC perform now. Adding a staff member, he said, would create "another level of bureaucracy."
Welshimer said she wasn't surprised by Hinshaw's reaction.
"I wouldn't have expected that he would be excited about it because No. 1, one of my proposals is to put someone over there who will make sure that things move along," she said. "Where we have bottlenecks, that person would be letting the commissioners know, the judges, the DA and working those problems out. That's something that we've not had and that we need."
Commissioners' assessments of plan
Commissioner Dave Unruh disagreed with Welshimer's overall assessment that the county has been indecisive about criminal justice.
"The alternative programs she references are things that we're working hard at making successful," he said.
Unruh said commissioners have in the past discussed hiring someone to "oversee jail issues from a commissioners' standpoint, and it's something we might discuss further."
But he said he would want to know what the exact responsibilities of such a liaison would be.
Commissioner Kelly Parks called Welshimer's plan a "good document."
