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| Indiana County Lockup Now Off Limits for Some Crimes |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 04/26/2002 |
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Prostitutes, pot smokers and unlicensed drivers will avoid arrest under Marion County's latest plan to ease crowding at the Downtown lockup. In an effort to avoid penalties and fines when the lockup's population exceeds a court-ordered cap, Marion County judges recently ordered police to give some suspects what amounts to a traffic ticket instead of arresting them, freeing up space for more dangerous suspects. Instead of being jailed, people suspected of those crimes will be issued a summons to appear in court. Attorneys for the county say this change would reduce the population by about 200 inmates a week. The three-judge executive committee wants to show a federal judge the county is trying to end the crowding, which places correctional officers in danger and infringes on inmates' civil rights. Recently, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker found the county in contempt for the conditions at the lockup. She warned that after May 1, the county would face heavy fines for each day the population exceeds the cap and for each inmate who is held in the facility longer than four days. There were 252 inmates in the lockup as of April 18, but the lockup violated the 297-person cap by 30 or more inmates three times over the weekend. The lockup is the temporary holding facility in the City-County Building where the newly arrested are detained until they face a judge for the first time or post bond. Indiana Civil Liberties Union attorney Ken Falk, who met privately with attorneys for the county and Barker, praised the county's efforts to address the population limit. But he worried that some inmates are being held far longer than they should be. |
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