Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté is again imploring county officials to pick up the pace on establishing a new county jail, warning the community will face long-term consequences if they don't.
Marté and his staff painted a grim picture during a presentation they gave Thursday to the Monroe County Council and Commissioners.
The meeting came two days after the county council tabled a motion to de-appropriate more than $10 million in local income tax bonds for the project. That development followed public disagreement between the commissioners and council over who must choose a new jail’s bed count.
The takeaway of Marté’s presentation came as no surprise: the current jail is well above capacity to ensure constitutional levels of care.
Marté said the situation has become so severe that he worries tensions will result in death.
“What worries me at night is, God forbid, someone in the jail — a staff member — is killed, or an inmate is killed,” Marté said. “The potential is there. When you have overcrowding and you have no space, tempers flare up. When we lock somebody down, it’s because we have to lock somebody down.”
Ruben Marté (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
The jail’s total bed capacity is 287. Data the sheriff’s office presented Thursday showed that between 2012 and 2019, the total number of inmates steadily increased to the point that housing them according to their needs has become unachievable.
A chart showed the number of inmates reached nearly 360 between 2018 and 2019. That’s above the functional capacity of even a 400-bed facility, according to the sheriff’s office.
Data presented Thursday by Marté and his staff. (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Jail Commander Kyle Gibbons said overcrowding on this level not only violates the terms of a 2009 private settlement agreement between the county and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana — it’s downright dangerous.
“When you operate in this area, we're heading towards danger,” Gibbons said. “Once we get there, we cannot ensure a safe, secure and humane facility. You just can’t.”
Kyle Gibbons (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Gibbons added the current jail is frequently on lockdown because it is the only way for staff to ensure inmates’ safety. Even when the population is down, he said it’s difficult to house people based on their classification. Staff must also consider factors such as people’s gender, medical history, mental health and conflicts between inmates.
Additionally, certain programming that would benefit inmates can’t happen, because the space isn’t there, according to Chief Deputy Phil Parker.
Parker said more waiting and arguing between county officials will cause more problems in the future.
“What we can't do is depart from what our mission is here and start worrying about the things that we want to add, as opposed to what we have to have,” Parker said. “We're not building it for us. If you look around the room, there's a good chance that a fair amount of us in this room won't be around for very long after this new jail becomes operational.”
Phil Parker (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Meetings about the jail last year were often fraught with clashes between county officials, which ultimately led the commissioners to suspend a committee that had been discussing the project. The county council later created a separate group to focus on the fiscal aspects of a new jail.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office argued the county is barely any closer to construction than it was on Jan. 1, 2023, when Marté took office.
In the meantime, Marté said money continues to be spent repairing a failing, outdated facility — and one that a 2021 consultant’s report found does not provide constitutional levels of care. Marté said this takes a toll on everyone in the jail.
“I implore you: Please, please, please, please act now because there's nothing else we could do,” Marté said. “The staff at this point is at a maximum of what they do right now, and they are tired.”
A feasibility study says the new jail should have 450 to 500 beds. Marté said his goal is not to fill every bed, but the jail needs enough space to separate inmates based on their individual needs — or in case of another pandemic.
The county’s settlement agreement with the ACLU of Indiana requires the county to establish a new jail but doesn’t say how large it should be.
Marté also wants the new jail to be co-located with county courts. He said there are safety issues around transporting people from jail to the courts and financial consequences of failing to co-locate.
