'The only person that benefits is the guy who is breaking the law'

EUGENE, Ore. -- Lane County can't afford the staff to keep all beds in use at the Lane County Jail.

Inmates are released from the jail regularly to make room for more offenders, but this month, the jail released 10 "high risk" inmates.

The Lane County Sheriff's Office said it could be a sign of what's to come.

Captain Randy Smith with LCSO said early inmate release is a money issue: between July 8 and 13, the jail released 78 inmates with charges like stalking, burglary and assault.

One former inmate said Lane County has a reputation.

"I was in Josephine County, and they know about the 'kick-out' thing here," said Richard Payne. Payne said he was convicted of a heroin possession charge.

Payne's sentence in 2010 was 120 days. He served two.

And Payne said he's frustrated about the number of people who walk in the jail doors and walk right back out.

"It's a revolving door. They break the law and the penalty is a slap on the wrist because they'll get out the next day," said Payne. "And continually breaking the law again because the consequences are nothing."

"The only person that benefits is the guy who is breaking the law," said Payne.

This isn't good news for law enforcement.

"Is it frustrating? Yes, but we continue to just do the best job we can with what we've got," said Smith. "There is no money to open up the unused portion of the jail, so we've got over 150 beds that are just sitting empty."

The Lane County Sheriff's Office said an inmate could be considered "high risk" based on the type of crime, like murder, or by other factors, like how many times the inmate has offended, the number of times in jail and whether it was a "person-to-person" crime.

So should Lane County residents be concerned about these high risk offenders on the streets?

Smith said it's a tough question to answer. "I think most of the community wants people to be held accountable," he said. "And if they're not being held accountable, the consequence may be that they're going to re-offend."

"It makes me kind of nervous, knowing there's some people like that being turned loose," said Eugene resident Don McMillan. "'Because criminals know they can do something and just go in and come back out."