At last month’s County Commission meeting, Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews made a presentation and requested that a new county jail be funded and built based on a claim that “the crime rate had grown beyond expectations in the county.”

Addressing the Commission, Andrews said, “No one expected the jail to have overcrowding issues for a long time.”

But on Thursday, May 1, Greg Cooper, former County Detective and current State Investigator, provided the County Commission, County Executive Kim Blaylock, UCDailyNews and other area media outlets a 27-page report disputing Sheriff Andrew’s claim.

According to the report, there has not been a significant increase in the rate of crime in Putnam County and arrest rates are actually on a downward trend. In fact, arrest rates for 2006 and 2007 are considerably lower than that of 2002 thru 2004.

According to Cooper, “One of the reasons the jail is overcrowded is that as many as 69 inmates are actually eligible to be sent to the Tennessee Department of Corrections but the Sheriff is keeping them here in Putnam County.”

“He's keeping these State prisoners here in Putnam County, which is adding to the overcrowding problem,” said Cooper.

The following is the opening statement in Cooper’s report:

“I have prepared a report based on statistics from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. Sheriff Andrews is required by law to accurately report these statistics to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). After reviewing these statistics and other information contained in this report, I must respectfully disagree with Sheriff Andrews. This report will show there is an overload of state prisoners that should have been sent to the Tennessee Department of Corrections. In one case, Sheriff Andrews has a state eligible inmate serving a 15-year sentence for murder in our county jail who is on trustee status. We have a county jail, not a state prison. A new workhouse is a good concept, but not needed at this time. When compared to other facilities, Putnam County Jail is one of the finest in the State. These statistics do not reflect negatively on the men and women of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. Ladies and Gentleman of the County Commission and County Executive Kim Blaylock, I believe you have been misinformed and respectfully ask each of you to explore this matter further for the sake of the taxpayers and voters that count on you to make the right decisions for them. I will be available anytime to answer any questions you may have or offer some suggestions. Thank you and God bless you.” ---- Greg Cooper

UCDailyNews will report more on this story as it develops.