By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
If you have viewed the Barton County Sheriff’s Booking Activity lately on greatbendpost.com you may have noticed a much shortened list of bookings. The coronavirus has not stopped crime altogether, but it has changed law enforcement’s approach to the booking process.
First off, Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir says his staff is screening any subject brought to the jail.
"If we have someone suspected to having coronavirus, we are not doing any testing but are doing screenings," said Bellendir. "We will prevent them from coming into the jail until they are medically cleared. If it is a serious crime, we will isolate them in the jail."
The Sheriff’s Office has worked with the 20th Judicial District Court, City Court, judges and all law enforcement chiefs throughout Barton County to expedite the trial process for inmates with a short date and are set to be released in a week or two.
"We will make every effort through bond and other arrangements to get inmates out of the facility as soon as we can," said Bellendir.
The effort is to ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19 and prevent any possible spread of the virus in the jail.
"Some bonds are being lowered so people can get out of jail on minor crimes," said Bellendir. "I want to stress that serious, violent and drug-related crimes are going forward with regular bonds."
Any subject brought to the jail is screened with a variety of questions including if they have traveled to areas with known coronavirus outbreaks. Subjects booked into the jail will also have their temperatures checked.
Bellendir noted the Sheriff’s Office is making arrangements if a positive case of coronavirus is confirmed at the jail. There is one cell block that can be isolated for any suspected cases until the testing can be confirmed.