On the Issues
JAIL OVERCROWDING
I believe that public safety should be our community's top priority and I’m committed to providing the best and most efficient law enforcement services possible with the resources provided by taxpaying citizens. The Jail overcrowding problem seems to be an ongoing problem with every Vigo County Sheriffs Administration.
The past administrations have felt that building on to the jail would elevate the problem. However the administration was told that the jail would be OVERCROWDED by the time it was finished. The judges are now forced to release felons back on to the street prior to any adjudication of their cases. We can not dictate or predict in any way shape or form, how long an inmate will be incarcerated. That is the way our judicial system is structured. As Sheriff it will be my job to safe guard this community from these criminals.
In dealing with this issue on the short term level, we have to extent our community corrections program. This would allow us to place the most non violent offenders on In-home detention or daily reporting. Additionally we have to look at placing more beds in common areas as well as utilizing the recreational area to place beds in.
The long term solution to this problem is the building of a new facility. The truth is that the current facility is in constant need of repair costing taxpayers additional monies. This has included replacing a hot water boiler, air conditioning units and replacing mold covered drywall. Why are the taxpayers of this community paying for inmates to sit in a cell 24 hours a day seven days a week?
We have to start working toward a SELF SUSTAINING jail. A facility that cuts the taxpayer cost substantially. The county already owns thousand of acres of land. The facility we need to work toward, would be a jail in which the inmates work inside and outside of the facility. It would be a facility that utilizes farming. Raising hogs, cattle and growing vegetables hydroponically. This facility would utilize solar heating and cooling, and recycling water. Unused energy can be sold back to Duke Energy.
An example of this is Pasco County Florida jail. I recently visited with the sheriff Bob White and one of his top jail administrators, Captain Mike Ferrantelli. The inmates farm the property. This facility has a hog farm that produces 1,000 pounds of pork a month. The inmates also grow there own vegetables. The inmates utilize a green house and grow vegetables year round. The facility currently spends seventy cents per inmate per meal. The program is maintained by the inmates. Pasco County has decreased the taxpayer cost greatly with this program. The pictures below are from my visit of the Pasco County Jail.
