New Skagit County jail will help warrant backlog, police say

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Police say the new Skagit County jail set to open in 2017 should help them tackle a backlog of unresolved arrest warrants.

The Skagit Valley Herald reports that Skagit County Chief of Corrections Charlie Wend says the new jail will eliminate overcrowding, but also help in other aspects of law enforcement.

Skagit County Sheriff Will Reichardt said his office has 7,000 to 8,000 unresolved warrants. As the current jail is often at capacity, jail officials have had to turn away booking requests for people accused with nonviolent, misdemeanor offenses. When those people don't show up for court dates after being released on their own recognizance it leads to arrest warrants.

Wend says the new jail will have more space and booking restrictions shouldn't be as frequent.