Hello, and thank you to all who are taking the time to read this. I am Deputy Lessley, and I was asked to share my jail experience with my community, so here goes. In high school, I joined the workforce with a job at a hardware store/lumber yard. I worked there for a total of 13 years. During my time there, I was able to become the store manager, and I enjoyed my job for the most part. I probably would still be there if I had had better insurance for my family. That being said, I began searching for a job that could provide that. I had a few offers that checked the boxes I needed, but I stumbled across a recruiting video for the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and submitted my application. I was applying to be a patrol deputy, and after six months of waiting, I got the call and was asked if I would be interested in starting my career in the jail with the opportunity to go to patrol in the future. Since I began working in the jail three years ago, there have been things I’ve seen that I will never unsee and smells that I will never be able to describe. There have been adults in custody (AICs) who will smear their feces on the walls, some who will use their toilets for days without flushing, others who urinate under their doors, and some who intentionally flood their cells by stuffing clothes or blankets into the toilets. Some days, I really miss going to work and helping someone order tools or supplies to remodel a house, along with the smell of fresh-cut cedar. One of the biggest issues we see is that countless AICs get arrested and brought to jail only to be booked and released. I understand that, as a citizen, it is frustrating to see this happen time and again, but let me just say that most, if not all, deputies are just as frustrated. Not all the AICs are arrested for major issues. Many get arrested and brought into the jail with a citation, which forces us to release them. We see these people get arrested and brought to jail seemingly as a means of keeping them off the streets of surrounding cities, but that just means they will be stuck on the streets of Coquille with no resources. There are some people who should be in an assisted living situation or in a mental health facility, but there aren’t many options, and apparently the Coos County Jail is believed to be the next best option for those individuals. We have extremely limited resources in this county, and it seems that what little we do have is exploited by those who don’t necessarily want them to actually try to change, but who use them as a way to get out of jail just to be arrested for a similar crime within days or a couple of weeks. We also get people who intentionally get arrested to have a place to sleep and meals provided. We have AICs who get arrested multiple times a year. A few have even reached 30 incarcerations in 2025. This causes another issue for us. When we house someone who is using the jail as a hotel, this takes up bed space and causes us to book and release because of the laws we are required to follow, as given to us by the state of Oregon. One issue I have with Oregon state law is that sometimes it seems as though the “time” does not match the “crime.” Meaning, there are crimes for which we have to house someone, but for someone with a “more serious crime,” we are forced to release them. I do hope that in the future, things get better for our community. I hope we are able to get resources here to help the people who need it. And hopefully, with more resources, people will feel less helpless and not resort back to their old habits. I know there are people who seem to have given up on themselves because they feel the system doesn’t work or it keeps them down, but maybe we can show that we haven’t given up on them. And I pray that one day we live in a safer and cleaner community. Thanks again.