Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain said he agrees with a study recommending the county build a new jail, replacing the aging structure downtown.
Commissioners and the county council reviewed a 2019 report recommending the jail be replaced during a meeting June 24.
Swain said the jail was not built to house the number of inmates it does today.
“We try and keep it under 300,” Swain said. “When we first moved in, it was designed for 128. Some additional space had been made within the building double bunking, so probably at best 280.”
Swain worked at the previous jail and helped move inmates into the current structure on North College Avenue.
“Ken Faulk of the Civil Liberties Union addressed a group of Indiana sheriffs in Bloomington when we had a conference, and (he said) it was the dumbest jail designs in Indiana”.
Swain said he would like to see a new jail built in an area where it can be expanded, if necessary, in the future.
He says he hopes it can be finished before his term is up at the end of 2022. By law, Swain cannot run for a third straight term.
