The Livingston County Sheriff reports 761 incident reports in 2019, which is up 148 compared to 2018. Sheriff Steve Cox attributed part of the increase to additional reporting of crime in the county and self-initiated activity by the sheriff’s department.
The department reported 239 arrest reports last year, up 37 compared to the previous year. Civil processes served totaled 1507, down 44. There were 1,401 traffic stops, down 26 and citations totaled 422 which was down 99.
Jail costs last year were $489,000 for board and nearly $15,000 for medical care. The average daily population was 33. The boarding costs were up, but the medical care charges and average daily population were down compared to the year before.
Cox said the jail and boarding issues continue to be reasonable compared to operating a local facility and noted contracting with the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail saves Livingston County taxpayers significant money. The agreement is a win for Daviess and DeKalb counties by helping with operational costs and lowering the overall burden on their taxpayers.
Cox said the primary reason the average daily population is down is because of a change in bonding requirements from the Missouri Supreme Court. The sheriff described it as an unexpected burden placed on law enforcement. Ss a result, officers may have to chase down people multiple times. He noted people can be arrested, charged, released on a signature bond, allegedly violate bond conditions or fail to obey a judge’s order, and receive new warrants to be picked up again.
Cox said it adds to the sheriff department’s transportation costs and reduces the time for criminal investigations and other obligations.
The annual daily cost per prisoner was $45.00 last year at Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail. Sheriff cox said the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department have what he called a great working relationship.
The report is the first of three parts to be released by Sheriff Cox regarding a summary of last year.
