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Washington County
Posted: Apr 14, 2025 2:58 PMUpdated: Apr 14, 2025 2:58 PM
Washington Co. Commissioners Tour County Jail Facility
Nathan Thompson
The Washington County Commissioners completed their annual inspection of the Correctional Center Monday and Bartlesville Radio tagged along.
The building was constructed 15 years ago and combines the sheriff's office, county-wide dispatch and a 188-bed dentention center. As of Monday, 113 inmates are in custody. The facility was designed to expand to 300 beds in the future.
Washington County Sheriff Lt. James Pendergraft is the jail administrator. During Monday's tour he said the county has moved to telephone and remote video visitation for inmates. The in-person video visitation room has been repurposed to help those incarcerated to better themselves once released.
In addition to the GED testing, the sheriff's office offers classes to inmates to get their basic education requirements and courses on "Parenting in Jail" to help them become productive citizens upon release. There is also on-site staff from Grand Mental Health who assist with inmates who have mental health concerns, and an on-site medical facility for general health check-ups overseen by a medical doctor and nurse.
Several of the inmate cells, known as pods, have been refurbished and remodeled with new fixtures, paint and plumbing. The Washington County Correctional Center has also moved away from body searches for all inmates. Instead, those who are being booked into the jail go through an X-ray body scanner.
Pendergraft says if the body scanner shows something that needs to be investigated, then a body search is completed. Additionally, females who are pregnant or any inmate who has a body device that would be impacted by X-rays would be subjected to a body search.
Washington County Sheriff's Lt. James Pendergraft, center, talks about the new body scanner Monday in the booking area of the Washington County Correctional Facility. Nathan Thompson/Bartlesville Radio
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