Clogged courts caused by the COVID-19-forced slow down in the system has contributed to close to capacity at the St Louis county jail.
But management is also finding it difficult to recruit staff because of non-competitive pay rates and federal unemployment benefits discouraging people to apply for jobs with County Justice Services, according to one council member.
According to latest figures provided to the County Council, the justice center has a physical capacity for 1,283 inmates and that the current population is 1,055.
But unfilled positions, as many as 40, mean staff are not able to handle full capacity, said Council Member Mark Harder (R-District 7).
"Part of this high population is due to back-ups in the courts," said Harder. "The Circuit Court was closed almost all of last year and is following Phase 2 guidelines right now."
Remote bench trials are encouraged, while jury trials are taking place but at a much slower pace, with only two happening on any day.
"This has meant that we have inmates who have been waiting up to two years for a trial," Harder said. "They have 40 unfilled positions within the department and have struggled to fill open positions for a number of reasons."
He cited as reasons "non-competitive pay rates compared to surrounding counties, the department’s cultural reputation, and the general labor shortage that every business is experiencing due to the generous federal unemployment benefits."
Harder continued: "Doug Burris is the new director of JSC and it trying to address these problems. They recently had a job fair and hired eight new people from that fair, but at the same time the department lost eight employees.
"They spent 100% of their overtime budget for the year by the end of April trying to make the current staff cover all shifts that have open positions."