Sheriff Says It Will Take “Years” to Sufficiently Staff Multnomah County Jails

Eleven inmates have died in county jails since 2022.

Portland Police - Downtown Jail (Brian Burk)
By Lucas Manfield

Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell told county commissioners Aug. 27 that staffing challenges could hamper efforts to fix the two jails she oversees.

O’Donnell was hauled before the commissioners to give a progress report on the more than 400 fixes recommended by local, state and federal inspectors. Eleven inmates have died in Multnomah County jails since 2022.

The county’s “Corrections Recommendations Project” began in April but is still just getting off the ground. Only 3% of the recommendations have been implemented so far, O’Donnell said. Her agency currently has 90 job vacancies.

“I definitely think it’s going to be a few years to ensure that we can get up to a sufficient staffing level to be able to provide again the services that are necessary,” she told commissioners.

In response, County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said her proposed budget fully funded the jail’s staffing requests and she was “happy to talk” if more funding was needed.

Whether that’s true is a matter in some dispute. Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards says she had to intervene to ensure O’Donnell got additional funding.

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