Update: The sheriff's office said it moved funds within its budget to cover the $30,000 it sought for inmate off-site housing. The funds would have otherwise been used for legal services, booking and printing, video imaging maintenance and general maintenance.
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté says he wants to get inmates at the county jail into off-site housing to bring down the facility’s population.
In an email he addressed to other elected officials, Marté said the jail hit a peak of 275 inmates last Monday, despite having only 239 total available beds.
In 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union sued Monroe County, alleging conditions at the jail violate inmates’ constitutional rights. A settlement reached the following year requires the sheriff to reduce the jail population whenever the jail population reaches 258 inmates, or 244 beds, according to Marté.
To that end, he asked the county council to approve $30,000 to allow him to transfer inmates to other facilities on a per diem basis. The sheriff’s budget currently includes just $3,000 for inmate off-site housing, according to Marté.
“As recently demonstrated, the inmate population can fluctuate rapidly and unpredictably,” Marté wrote to council members. “The additional appropriation would give us the ability to act quickly and provide flexibility as housing needs evolve.”
The sheriff's office said the council is willing to work on its request and advised on how to best use current funding sources for immediate needs. That could include Marté moving funds within his department budget.
Council member Kate Wiltz said that's the recommended solution for the sheriff's immediate needs.
"We just started with brand new budgets," Wiltz said. "If (Sheriff Marté) feels he has a situation he needs to take care of immediately, he has the authority to move things around in his budget."
In his letter, Marté also said inmates should be moved to other facilities whenever the jail population reaches 215 because inmate housing practices have changed, and the number of beds actually available has decreased as a result.
“As we have implemented changes to improve the constitutionally required safety of the jail, it has become increasingly apparent to me the rationale to determine the security bed count, while possibly appropriate at the time, does not align with current expectations and requirements,” Marté wrote.
For example, Marté said, prior to 2023, inmates typically were placed in available beds without sufficient attention to security, medical or safety needs. Marté said his office has since started placing certain inmates in housing units separate from the jail’s general population.
“This method of housing for the safety of special needs inmates is repeated throughout the facility, albeit for equally important concerns: sex offenders, security classifications, keep separate inmates, protective custody, administrative/disciplinary housing, etc.,” Marté wrote.
Marté said some inmates have resorted to sleeping on mat boards on the floor due to the bedding shortage. The jail also has a shortage of clothing, sleeping mats and blankets, and the intake and detoxification cells are housing several inmates for extended periods.
Marté said the housing situation has led to untenable consequences, including several altercations between inmates resulting in injuries and an inmate recently attempting suicide.
“We should all know with near certainty when the population of a jail increases and becomes near or over its capacity, danger to the staff and residents also increases accordingly,” Marté wrote.
Marté said the jail population has decreased since the time he sent the message last week. On Monday, the count was 251. At least 10 inmates were transported late last week to the Indiana Department of Correction.
The jail’s population count does not include inmate workers or arrestees in detoxification units.
