Parolees will be released in Monroe County only if they are from Monroe County or have ties to the county.
The policy reflects a new verbal agreement between the Bloomington Police Department and the Indiana Department of Correction.
At a Thursday news conference at City Hall, BPD Chief Mike Diekhoff announced the state department’s commitment to sending fewer people to Monroe County after they are released from incarceration.
Over the summer, police and city representatives met with DOC Commissioner Robert Carter, who confirmed the truth to the long-standing rumor that an above-average number of parolees were being sent to Monroe County because of the extensive social services in the area. There are 10 parole districts in Indiana, including one based in Bloomington, with offices responsible for monitoring offenders once they move from incarceration to parole supervision. The Bloomington office represents 10 counties: Monroe, Brown, Bartholomew, Lawrence, Jackson, Orange, Washington, Harrison, Crawford and Perry.
“Due to the services that are provided here in Monroe County and Bloomington, a lot of people started picking Bloomington to be released to,” Diekhoff said Thursday.
Carter told Diekhoff that the Department of Correction will allow parolees to be released to Monroe County only if their most recent address was in the county or if they have ties to the county such as family members living here.
“They heard our concerns,” Diekhoff said.