First public meeting to discuss possible new jail

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - Indiana jails are growing and the over-crowding issue is a problem, so leaders in the summit city say they’re behind the idea of constructing a new jail in Allen County.

It’s been talked about for years, but leaders say a study about the Allen County justice system and the jail, maybe the catalyst needed for action. Allen County’s Sheriff’s Department Troy Hershberger says the jail is overcrowded and it’s not a secret.

Allen County’s jail was built more than 40 years ago and then expanded before the revitalization of downtown. Jail leaders say the structure and its technology are outdated with inmates routinely subjected to overcrowded conditions. Talk has circulated among elected officials for years that something needed to change, but a pending federal civil liberties lawsuit about how inmates are housed and a justice system study this summer are prompting a closer look. But what if if doesn’t happen?

“Then we got to rehab. And we would have to rehab the section of the jail that is 42 years old that holds over a third of the inmates. It’s going to be a juggling act. It’s going to be a collaborative effort amongst the different portions of the county government to see this thing happen.”

If this comes to life, Hershberger says it would take a lot of work and the need for the public’s backing. He says several years ago the state mandated that Level 6 felons, the lowest level of felony offenders, could not be housed at the department of corrections. But over time, the number of Level 6 Felony cases increased, while space at the jail did not.

Hershberger also says the cost for a new site and new jail could run in the hundreds of millions of dollars, which could prompt an increase in the jail tax as well as a bond issue.

“I’ve been in this business for long enough, there will be people for it, against it. In the end, we got to do what is best like I said for the taxpayer’s money but yet the Sheriff manages the jail and we have to do what’s best for the population in that jail as well.”

The first public meeting is slated for Friday, February 25 at 10 a.m. Allen County Commissioners will be there, along with sheriff’s department representatives. Stay with us as we continue to follow these developments closely.

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