KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- Six of the state’s sexually violent predators are in Kirksville.

They are houses in the Adair County Jail.

The previous sheriff, Leonard Clark, signed a contract with the state to house the detainees for $70.00 a day.

That could add up to $250,000.00 if the jail was housing ten of the state detainees year-round.

Adair County Sheriff Bob Hardwick says the inmates don’t pose a problem. “The detainees are well mannered and cause no trouble. If they do, I have a phone number I would call and they would see to it that the issue is taken care of,” Hardwick says.

Hardwick says the sexually violent predators have already served their criminal sentences, but are in the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health because they may pose a threat if released. “These folks are being held on a civil commitment. It gives time to the Department of Mental Health to see their mental stability and determine whether they’re safe to be put into society,” Hardwick says.

To make room for the state detainees, Hardwick had to send the two female prisoners more than two hours away to Pattonsburg, Missouri.

“The pod that the females are housed in is a ten cell area. So if you only have two females, that means you’re vacant on eight beds. The decision I made was to alleviate that problem and have the females transported to another facility so I can utilize that space and house the state detainees,” Hardwick says.

The sheriff also prefers not to have women inmates because he doesn’t have any female jailers at the moment.

That is not uncommon. Many neighboring county jails also don’t house women.

If you’re interested in applying to be a jailer with Adair County, visit the Missouri Career Center in Kirksville.