MUNCIE. — The crowded cellblocks. The noise. The smell.
The Delaware County jail is seriously overcrowded and needs a remedy.
On Wednesday, 306 inmates were in the jail, which was built in 1992 for 110 inmates and later expanded to 220. In other words, a tour of the jail on Wednesday, by officials and The Star Press, came on a day when the jail was at its worst.
And only 10 correctional officers were working on the day shift on Wednesday, Sheriff Ray Dudley noted.
The Delaware County commissioners say they intend to build a new, $45 million, 500-bed jail in the former ASONS/Wilson Middle School building. Officials also want to expand rehabilitation and community corrections programs.
The jail would likely be a target of a lawsuit, like the inmate lawsuit of 1978, unless changes are made, a state jail inspector said earlier.
The former gymnasium of the jail is now, thanks to the high number of inmates, just another cellblock, albeit one with no cells. Up to 40 inmates sleep on cots, called "boats," on the floor. A state jail inspector said the jail is in violation of a law requiring inmate classification, which assesses inmate risks, security and needs.