OPINION: Washoe Sheriff Won’t Enlarge Jail. Puts County At-Risk. Refuses to Talk About It.

Washoe County’s jail was built in 1988.

• The County’s population at that time was 242,000.

• The homeless population was less than 100.

• The jail holds 1200 inmates.

37 years later (2025) …

• The County’s general population has more than doubled.

• The homeless population has grown by over 2,000%.

But the jail STILL holds only 1200 inmates and is constantly full (except when they triple-bunk to temporarily squeeze in a few more inmates.) This creates an environment that promotes more violence, suicide, and mental illness.

Washoe’s quality-of-life homeless crime has exploded, but these chronic offenders are rarely jailed, largely because there’s a shortage of empty cells to put them in.

• So the District Attorney’s office refuses to fully prosecute a large number of the homeless criminals that local law enforcement arrests.

• So local police get discouraged and make fewer arrests.

• So these criminals go essentially unpunished, become more brazen, and return to county communities to prey on you and me.

Washoe Sheriff Darin Balaam was elected 7 years ago.

• He has announced NO plans for a larger county jail (the anticipated ICE facility is not connected with this need.)

• Balaam doesn’t even acknowledge that this problem exists. He has refused multiple media requests to talk about it: funneling all his resposes through secretaries and subordinate officers, and never responding personally.

Sheriff Balaam’s elected position owes 373,212 registered County voters two things.

1) A public explanation for why he has allowed this critical situation to get out of control and endanger the community.

2) An immediate action plan for building a large jail facility.

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