jails

The Monroe County commissioners held a listening session over the weekend to hear feedback and take questions about the possibility of building a new justice center on Vernal Pike.

Commissioner Julie Thomas said the county needs to construct a new jail to replace its aging downtown facility as well as co-locate judicial services to the same site.

A representative with DLZ, the firm that will design a new Monroe County Jail, says it needs to know soon what the project’s construction budget will be.

Members of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners insist the new justice facility is necessary because conditions in the current jail in downtown Bloomington pose risks to detainees and guards alike.

Monroe County officials are considering a location in southwest Bloomington to build a new jail facility — and some residents aren’t happy about it. Dozens turned up at a listening session to register their opposition.

Sheriff Greg Day is asking the Indiana State Police to conduct an investigation into the death of Damien Pinnick, 38, after he was found unresponsive in the Lawrence County Security Center in Bedford.

Indiana lawmakers are trying to divert more people away from local jails and into mental health treatment. Advocates call a proposed bill “compassionate,” “humane” and “fiscally responsible.”

An Indiana House committee voted this past week in favor of a proposal dropping the state’s requirement that most people sentenced for least-serious Level 6 felony crimes serve any time behind bars in county jails.