Monroe County Jail works to solve 'overloaded conditions'

Currently, 270 people reside in the Monroe County Jail. \nBut the jail's capacity is 124. \nMonroe County Sheriff Jim Kennedy is in charge of the facility, which is across the street from Smallwood Plaza. A genial yet stern man, he smiles when talking, except when referring to the inmates or their housing.\n"The jail was built approximately 21 years ago," Kennedy said. "The day it opened it was overcrowded. We have people sleeping on the floors, the hallways, in the recreation center -- we don't even use it for recreation anymore since it is constantly filled with people. We double bunked all the cells 15 years ago, and now capacity is 205 people. Since I took office 31 days ago, my average population is 270."\nPeople sleeping in hallways isn't the only problem. The plumbing is failing, and hinges on the cell doors are falling off.\n"We're spending an awful amount of money on maintenance because of the overloaded conditions of this facility," Kennedy said. \nAnother problem is the vertical design of the jail that makes movement difficult, Kennedy said. \nFor example, the jail is on the fourth floor of the building. There is one elevator that runs from the fourth floor down, and is controlled by a deputy in a control room. Inmates go to court every day and must be escorted by guards carefully.\nVisitation furthers this problem. There are only six visitation booths on the first floor, Kennedy said, which makes it hard for the guards to accommodate the many prisoners during the limited visitation hours.\nBut looking at some cell blocks, it does not appear that there is any overcrowding at all.\nThese are the cell blocks for work release inmates or inmates who are a "high security risk," which means they are on lock down 23 out of every 24 hours of the day.\nThe next cell blocks reveal the overcrowding. People sleep on thin mattresses, lining the walls of the floor's common area. Everyone lies within 2 feet of another person. Next to their mattresses are bottles of Coke or water and books.\nThe recreation room looks the same. Thin mattresses line the walls all the way around a room the size of a small basketball court.\nTo fix the movement problem, inmates will soon be able to attend court hearings through a live video feed. \nBut quick fixes won't solve the problems, Kennedy said, adding that the city has several other solutions in mind.\nThe two most popular solutions are either to build another prison or to rehabilitate prisoners so that they won't come back.\nThere are no plans for a new prison, but rehab programs, such as New Leaf, New Life, are already in place. According to its Web site, they teach inmates to find jobs and be productive once they leave jail.\nKennedy said New Leaf, New Life focuses on fixing recidivism.\n"The corrections system should correct," the Rev. Hal Taylor, the head of New Leaf, New Life, says on the organization's Web site. "People should come out of prison and jail more capable of leading productive lives than when they entered the system." \nAccording to an Oct. 6, 2006 Indiana Daily Student article, Chris Gaal, Monroe Country Prosecutor, said in a pre-election debate that not everyone who is in jail should be there. People with addiction problems should not be in there, he said. \nThey may be on to something. According to New Leaf, New Life, 70 percent of those released return within three years. Kennedy echoes that statistic. \n"There have been people in and out of here over 80 times," he said. \nWhile he supports rehab programs, he is unsure of their effect. \n"The problem with Hal (Taylor's) program is that it's long term," Kennedy said. "It may take months before we see results." \nCity council member Susan Sandberg summed it up. \n"The problem with local jail overcrowding will take many people and organizations to solve," Sandberg said. "The Monroe County Jail must accept all people convicted by the courts, so the conversation needs to happen among the Board of Judges, the new prosecutor, police, social workers, and city and county officials who represent the community."\nMeanwhile, inmates continue to sleep on the cold, cement floor.