|
|
| Judge says road deputies could ease jail woes |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 01/05/2004 |
|
A federal judge last week requested that the Marion County (Ind.) sheriff's department supplement a shortage of officers in the Marion County Jail with road deputies. During a 45-minute status conference on the troubled local jail, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker suggested that Sheriff Frank Anderson have his employees be "cross-trained" because there's no guarantee that enough taxpayer money will ever be available to hire as many correctional officers as Anderson wants. Barker did not file a written order but made the suggestion to Anderson and wants him and the attorneys involved in the case to bring the idea before the newly Democratic City-County Council as well as a local criminal justice planning council, then report back at a hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 6 in federal court. Anderson didn't comment on the request, but his attorney Kevin Murray said after the meeting that public safety for law-abiding citizens is just as crucial as providing proper safety to inmates inside the Downtown facility. There are 417 merit deputies to respond to 911 calls and engage in proactive law-enforcement techniques such as drug busts and investigate homicides. Anderson, who inherited the jail situation when he took office last Jan. 1, already has shuffled office workers to get enough people on the streets. He has said he's needed as many as 250 additional merit deputies just to handle the expanding population outside of the city of Indianapolis but within the townships of Marion County. Two studies released in August called staffing levels at the local jail "absurdly low" and said the county needed 62 more correctional officers to ensure safe and humane conditions for inmates and officers. The jail has a staff of about 220 correctional officers, who earn a starting salary of about $25,000 a year. Anderson asked for 62 new officers during an August budget hearing; the council gave him 20 officers this year and 20 more next year. Barker said she'd be willing to even keep the staffing levels at the jail if the population dropped low enough, but that's uncertain. The jail population is required to be no higher than 1,210 as of Jan. 1. Last week the jail population was under 1,000 inmates for three days - a dramatic reduction considering that the average in May was over 1,500. Falk said the jail is still dangerously understaffed, pointing out a suicide last week of a former IPD officer is one of the ramifications of low staffing -- not enough supervision to protect inmates from attacks on each other. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think