Deadline approaching: The Pima County jail’s Blue Ribbon Commission is nearing the deadline for its recommendations on whether the facility can be improved or a new one needs to be built, the Arizona Republic’s Sarah Lapidus reports. The group will hear community input on its initial findings at its August 10 meeting. In September, it will develop final recommendations to supervisors. Pima County Board of Supervisors chair Adelita Grijalva said last month that the board would hold a study session before voting on the new jail. (August 2, 2023)

A panel of experts tapped to evaluate Pima County’s need for a new jail will meet this morning for the last time before presenting their recommendations to Pima County supervisors next month. Their decision can’t come soon enough, as people incarcerated at the Pima County Adult Detention Center continue to die at steady and concerning rates. (Tucson Agenda) (August 10, 2023)

Set up for success: Pima County opened a new Transition Center at the Pima County jail last week as part of ongoing efforts to reduce rearrests and failures to appear in court, *Arizona Public Media’*s Hannah Cree reports. “Justice Navigators” will connect released individuals with services including transportation, shelters, treatment centers and a free cell phone with three months of service. (September 11, 2023)

Two more months: The Blue Ribbon Commission set up to look into the Pima County jail will have an additional 60 days before they submit their report, Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher wrote in a memo. The commissioners said they wanted to “get it right” before they released their report. (October 4, 2023)

Big bucks for a new jail: The commission evaluating the Pima County Adult Detention Center said building a new jail could cost upwards of $800 million, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington writes. The commission’s final report recommends hiring a consultant to evaluate how to best spend taxpayer dollars and says that while there’s no jail population crisis now, one is on the horizon. The 269-page report doesn’t offer a definitive answer as to whether or not a new jail should be built, but commission members agree that something must be done to “relieve the strain of current conditions.” About 2,000 community members weighed in through a public survey, with responses varying between people who want and those who don’t want a new jail. (February 8)

Focus on the smaller stuff: County officials should focus on making safety repairs and boost funding for healthcare at the county jail, instead of large-scale renovations or building a new jail, until they have more information, County Administrator Jan Lesher wrote in a memo to the supervisors this week. She suggested they form a new commission to see about lowering the jail’s population, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. (February 16)

County officials’ tough choices don’t end with asylum. The board of supervisors also has to figure out what to do about the county jail. Sheriff Chris Nanos asked the supervisors to fund a new jail, citing the jail’s aging facilities, while rights advocates called for reform after more people started dying in the jail. The county formed a Blue Ribbon Commission last March to see what should be done. They came back in December with recommendations about renovating the jail or building a new one. The thing is, those options would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Lesher said she wants to look at smaller fixes, such as improving healthcare in the jail. County Supervisor Matt Heinz wants the board to consider a recommendation from Just Communities Arizona to reduce the number of people sent to the jail in the first place. The supervisors will discuss the commission’s findings at their meeting today, and probably many more times over the next few months. (Tucson Agenda) (February 20)

No decision yet: As they debated what to do about the Pima County jail on Tuesday, the county supervisors hesitated to endorse any of the options laid out for them by the Blue Ribbon Commission, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington reports. Supervisor Matt Heinz wants to reduce the jail’s population. Supervisor Rex Scott wants to know how many people are there because they couldn’t afford bail. Supervisor Adelita Grijalva wants more input from people who work in the jail or were impacted by the jail. Supervisor Steve Christy, the lone Republican on the board, wants to know why the commission couldn’t come up with a clear recommendation.

“If they can’t come up with a recommendation, what was the purpose of the commission?” Christy asked. (February 21)

Jail dispute isn’t over: Sheriff Chris Nanos is still pushing to get a new jail, despite indications from the Pima County Board of Supervisors that they are looking at less costly alternatives than spending $850 million to replace the jail, KGUN’s Kenny Darr reports.

"I don’t know if you can ever remodel this one. It is in such disrepair. They can say all they want, it’s not in crisis," Nanos said. "I can show you video today, just today, of water spraying everyone and it’s not raining. It’s a mess and they know it's a mess." (March 15)

(April 1) The problems at the county jail aren’t going away and the supervisors are deciding whether to charter a new Blue Ribbon Commission to find a fix. A similar commission tried to find a solution last year, but they didn’t come up with a specific recommendation. Sheriff Chris Nanos insists the jail is beyond repair and the county should build a new one, while the supervisors are hesitating to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on it. County officials have spent years trying to find a solution, as County Administrator Jan Lesher showed in 274 pages of memos she and her predecessor sent to the board over the past few years. (Tucson Agenda)

(April 3) Learning from the past: Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher says that a new commission tasked with reexamining jail reform will take into account past criminal justice reform efforts, *Arizona Public Media’*s Hannah Cree reports. The Pima County Criminal Justice Reform Advisory Commission was formed in 2018, but its work was interrupted in 2020 by the pandemic. Lesher wrote in a memo to supervisors that she was assembling a new commission of 15 to 20 county staffers to continue the efforts of the 2018 commission in combination with the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recent findings.

(April 4) Still at a crossroads: The Pima County supervisors don’t agree on what to do about the county jail or what the county’s responsibilities are, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. At Tuesday’s meeting, they offered different visions of what they want done while County Administrator Jan Lesher puts together a task force to set up a commission she’s calling the Justice System and Infrastructure Review Committee.