MULTNOMAH COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) – The Multnomah County sheriff is sounding the alarm that his jails are approaching capacity.

It’s the latest concern for authorities as they prepare for possible unrest related to next week’s presidential election.

If jails reach capacity, it would force an emergency release of people in county custody.

However, the problem is not a lack of space to house prisoners. Rather, it is due to a lack of staff and funding.

Under the county’s Emergency Release Plan, if jails reach 95% capacity, they must begin releasing inmates.

Currently, the budgeted capacity of the prisons is 1,130 beds. As of Tuesday, there are 983 people incarcerated, or 87% of capacity.

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There are five jail dormitories that are currently unused in Multnomah County. That’s because Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell says they don’t have enough correctional officers to staff those dormitories and they don’t have the budget to hire anyone else.

She says if they opened more dormitories, they would have to close other parts of the Sheriff’s Office.

“We would possibly be closing the reservations desk,” he said. “So they go hand in hand with respect to being able to be agile and open a dormitory and not having the funds available to really attack this emergency staffing crisis within our system currently, and that has been in our system for more than a couple of years”

Who gets out if prisons reach 95% capacity?

There are many people who will not be eligible to be released, even if prisons reach 95% capacity.

Those who are not eligible include people facing charges of domestic violence or child abuse, sexual crimes, if they pose a risk to the community or a victim, or if they have a history of DUII charges.

To determine who would be released, the Sheriff’s Office would follow a scorecard that is part of the Emergency Release Plan.

Only those who score below 100 would be eligible for release. Examples would include those facing charges for non-violent crimes and misdemeanors.

However, not everyone who qualifies would be released. The Sheriff’s Office would simply look to get back below 95% capacity.

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Sheriff Morrisey O’Donnell says releasing even those eligible could pose a threat to the community and he doesn’t want to implement the Emergency Release Plan in the first place.

“I do not believe our county should rely on this plan without truly addressing the critical public safety needs of our community, that is, through adequate funding, including staffing and resources focused directly on our public safety system,” said.

He adds that the county is preparing the jails in case of riots on election night.

While he did not disclose specific details, he said he is working with system partners and neighboring agencies to ensure they have capacity on election night.

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