Indiana Department of Corrections Report: Monroe County Jail is overcrowded, more jail personnel need to be hired

The Monroe County Jail is suffering overcrowding and a shortage of jailers, according to a report released by the Indiana Department of Corrections. The report also found several other minor infractions, including a lack of adequate shower space and corrosion in the sprinkler system.\nHowever, Monroe County Sheriff Jim Kennedy said he was happy with the report and that most of the infractions found were minor.\n“I thought it was a thorough inspection, and I thought we came out of it very well,” Kennedy said. “The major problem that they’ve realized, of course, is the overcrowding situation.”\nThe report said 16 new jailers need to be hired to provide “sufficient jail personnel.” Kennedy said he would do what he could to fill those positions, while seeking extra money from the county to help facilitate such hires.\n“They’ve not added to this staff in years, so getting ... new jailers will be a tremendous help,” Kennedy said, adding that more correctional officers will make the facility safer.\nKennedy said he does his best to alleviate overcrowding but said the sheriff only has so much power. He said his only powers involve classifying prisoners based on how much time they must do to make up for time served after conviction and taking away “good time,” both of which actually cause more overcrowding.\n“The two things I can do make them stay in the jail longer,” Kennedy said.\nKennedy said he is doing everything he can to add extra beds to a facility that was built to house 124 people 21 years ago. The jail has averaged about 250 people on any given day this year, Kennedy said. He added that Monroe County’s incarceration rate is lower than that of other counties its size.\nKennedy said double-bunking the beds on the fourth and fifth floors of the Monroe County Justice Building, where the jail is housed, should create enough new spaces to house all the prisoners. Fourth-floor cells are already double-bunked, pushing the capacity to 194, and double-bunking beds on the fifth floor will add 59 new beds, Kennedy said.\nHe said people in the jail who do not have a cell are currently sleeping on mattresses in the jail’s recreational facility. He said that limits his ability to classify and contain inmates who might be more violent or dangerous, making the jail itself more dangerous.\nThe sheriff also said a locker storage area on the first floor will soon be renovated so that females in the jail can be moved there and separated from male inmates. Currently, they are only separated by cell block.\nKennedy pointed to small infractions he recognized as requiring immediate attention, including adding showers so the jail has the required one shower for every 12 inmates. The report states that the jail currently falls short of meeting the required one toilet and one shower per every 12 inmates.\nKennedy said IU students tend not to be part of the overcrowding problem. He said there are some instances where they can be in jail in high numbers, but they usually are bonded out quickly.\n“In general, the inmates that are of student origin – they’re not a problem for us,” Kennedy said. “The University’s not an impact problem on the jail.”\nKennedy also pointed to the cost of a new jail as a determining factor, considering the Monroe County Council would have to appropriate a significant amount of money for the project.\n“It’s going to cost millions and millions of dollars,” Kennedy said. “You’re going to have to convince an awful lot of elected officials, and the costs of jails is exceptionally high.”