Dec. 19—As the months get colder, people who are living unhoused or unsheltered will have less options of where to sleep.
For this reason, the jail in Buchanan County, Missouri, has seen an increase in its population during the winter months, according to Lieutenant Joe Lysaght with the Buchanan County’s Sheriff’s Office.
“Actually, right now there’s an inmate upstairs that will be very open and tells us he’s here because he’s homeless, he knows he’ll get three meals a day and it’s warm in here,” Lt. Lysaght said.
Individuals without shelter this time of year will intentionally commit petty crimes at the start of the cold weather season so that they will be put in jail by the time that winter sets in.
“Trespassing is one we see often,” Lt. Lysaght said. “If a person commits a trespassing violation they’re brought to jail and from there they decide if they want to continue that process through the courts and take it to a trial. If they decide to do so, the inmate is here throughout the whole process which ultimately keeps them here throughout the whole wintertime.”
Lt. Lysaght said that the population increase is not happening at a high enough volume for the jail to notice a drastic influx but it’s still a trend they’re observing.
“We’d really like to see more of these individuals utilize the cold weather shelters,” Lt. Lysaght said. “Of course, they only have so many beds available as well and that’s the downside to it but we’d like to see them utilize other resources first so the jail can house individuals who need to be in here due to a more serious offense.”
Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.