Overcrowded




Metro

Metro

Summer is here and crowds are flocking to the area for fun in sun on the lakes and at Indiana Beach.

While summer visitors bring an increase in revenue to local businesses, Sheriff Bill Brooks says it also creates a problem for the jail – and an increase in inmates.

“White County is one of only a handful in the state with our issue,” he said. “The population of the county will increase to (between) 25,000 to 30,000 when the lake opens up. It’s a huge influx to inmates at the jail.”

The jail has 106 cells within seven pods. Leading up to Memorial weekend the census at the jail was 81. According to Chief Deputy David Roth, 14 individuals were arrested and placed in custody at the jail over the weekend, bringing the total of inmates to 89.

Brooks says the jail was state-of-the-art for its time when it was constructed from 1996-to 1998.

“(The jail) was designed for those times,” he said. “We are currently using every inch of space.”

Adding to the complexity of an already at capacity jail system is the requirement that new inmates are still required to quarantine for 10 days when entering the jail. In addition, the jail is currently housing five individuals awaiting trial for murder. Each of those inmates must be housed independently from one another.

“This jail has five classification areas, which is half of what we need,” Brooks said.

Those classification areas designate how offenders must be housed.

“A lot of the regulations (on the jail system) were imposed after the jail was designed and built,” he said.

The Department of Corrections does not want jails to be at more than 80% capacity, Jail Commander Curt Blount said.

“When we get to beyond 80% it taps into us being able to work safely,” he said.

Jail officials are working to use every inch of space, even emptying storage rooms to make space available for inmates to meet with attorneys. Attorney conversations with clients cannot be recorded and the jail needed to be able to provide that space.

The issues at the jail are many. The linear model the jail was constructed in makes it difficult to monitor movement, Brooks said. Blount said the jail’s eight holding cells are full daily, and with the summer influx, they continue to be at or near capacity.

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