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PERKINS, Oklahoma, May 4, 2003
The only jail in this Payne County city of 2,272 has been out of
commission for many years. The historic box made of bars is displayed at the local museum so those who
don't pay their traffic tickets won't worry about going to jail, Police Chief Robert Williams said.
But lawbreakers could hear the clang of jail doors once again, now that an agreement allows the city of
Perkins to use the Iowa Tribe's jail anytime.
"If we run across them, we've got a place for them," Williams said.
Perhaps that knowledge will serve as a deterrent, he said.
Williams said the partnership gave the city more convenience. The tribe's jail is about two miles south of
Perkins, while the Payne County jail is about 12 miles north in Stillwater.
"Anytime officers went to the county, it took them out of service for a while," Williams said.
Getting the office back on the street quicker is vital, since the city only has one officer on duty most of
the time, he said.
Jim Cox, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police, said partnerships between tribal
law enforcement agencies and their city and county counterparts are not unusual. But in most cases, the tribes
are using city or county jails.
The Sac and Fox Nation has a similar situation. The tribe operates a juvenile detention center that nontribal
groups use.
The Perkins/Iowa Tribe jail deal grew from a previous cooperative agreement leaders approved in February 2002.
Under that agreement, the tribe agreed to provide 24 hour dispatching services and two police departments were
cross-deputized.
Williams said the city will use the tribe's jail for short-term holding and misdemeanor offenses. Officers will
still take amore serious offenders to the Payne County jail.
The city will pay a $13 booking fee per person and $1 for every hour the prisoner is here.
Lori Crosby, a police officer with the tribe, said the tribe's year-old jail has room for six inmates, which is
plenty of room to handle the tribe's and Perkins' arrests.
"Our rapport with Perkins is awesome," she said. "It's a good agreement for both of us. We help each other out
all the time."
The tribe also is scheduled to take over Perkins' 911 systems. Williams said he hopes to have that completed sometime
in May.
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