'It's a problem': Washington County Jail reports in-custody overdoses spiked in 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After two adults were found unconscious in the Washington County Jail last week, the sheriff’s office has confirmed their deaths were caused by overdoses.

Officials say contraband inside corrections facilities has contributed to a staggering spike in overdoses in 2023. In fact, they say this year has totaled to more than 10 times what the jail saw in 2021.

Lt. Vance Stimler has worked for the Washington County Sheriff's Office for more than 20 years and said he has never seen rates this high.

"Anecdotally, we knew that numbers were going up, but when we looked at the numbers they are clearly going up," he said. "In 2021, we had one. In 2022, we had four. So far this year, we've had 11."

Amid the fentanyl crisis, the number of people entering the jail in detox has nearly doubled since last year – along with overdoses.

"People will take a higher dose or a dose like they did when they were on the street, and that dose is now an overdose amount," Stimler said. "And so there's risk to the people in custody, there's a risk to the person who brought it in, there's a risk to people who they may share it with."

Although Stimler said he doesn't believe the sheriff's office can completely stop drugs from getting inside the facility, the office has made some strides, including moving their mail system offsite and working to get a K9 assigned inside the jail.

"As we see this rise in overdoses and the rise of people bringing drugs into custody, it's a problem, and we need to try to work to address that,” Stimler said.

Meanwhile, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has reported seven jail deaths in 2023 – the largest spike in nearly 15 years.

According to toxicology and medical examiner reports, fentanyl was in the systems of nearly half of the people who died in Multnomah County’s custody.