Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine said he can't remember the last time there have been fewer than 100 inmates in the county jail.
The current capacity is 88 inmates. A recent letter addressed to the county commissioners by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union said that such overcrowding should be addressed, he said.
"An inmate had complained about the overcrowding and (the ICLU) wondered if it was being addressed and I said yes," County Administrator Ron Robinson said.
"I think discussion has been going on for the last five to six years," Rovenstine said.
Now in preliminary stages, the proposed expansion of the county jail will hold 300 inmates.
Schenkel Schultz Architectural Firm, Fort Wayne, has been hired for the project, Robinson said.
"They're in the process of meeting with the various department heads that it will affect," he said.
There are several reasons the jail has been overcrowded, Rovenstine said.
"I think during the mid- to late '80s, there's been a lot of federal funding for the fight against drugs," Rovenstine said. "We've been involved in (that fight)."
There also have been more drunk driving arrests as the laws have become stricter due to public outcry, he said.
"Plus," he said, "in our case, the population in the county continues to grow."
The proposed construction would demolish the building south of the county jail where the work release and probation departments are located. Robinson said it is too early to tell whether or not the entire block would be used. It is possible, but the architects will not know until they talk to the department heads, he said.
"We're in the process now of trying to find places for work release and probation to be housed temporarily," Rovenstine said.
The biggest concern of the new building will be for cell spaces. Other expanded areas will include central dispatch and offices. Robinson said it was a little too early to know when the construction would begin.
