In five years, Delaware County’s prison population has dropped by 40 percent, according to Chief Public Defender Chris Welsh.
Welsh presented the statistics for the George W. Hill Correctional Facility to Delaware County Council at a July 16 meeting, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.
The prison population on January 1, 2020, was 1,773 people. It dropped slightly when COVID-19 hit, then rose to 1,570 in October 2021.
Today, the population stands at 1,076, he said.
Welsh credited the population drop to an increase in advocates from the public defenders’ office helping people get the help they need, rather than keeping them in prison.
“The population of people that we represent are often the most vulnerable people among our community, suffering from substance use disorder, people suffering from mental health issues.”
In 2020, the prison was housing 1,773 people, with 46 lawyers, including seven women, and 12 administrative staff members in the public defender’s office.
Today, there are 67 full-time employees, comprising 50 lawyers, over 50 percent of whom are women; 10 administrative staff members; five social workers; and two full-time investigators.
Find out what other changes have been made to reduce the prison population in the Daily Times.
Here’s how a Delaware County, Ohio prison kept its population down by 30 percent during COVID-19.
