Henry County using jails in Blackford and Elkhart counties to relieve its overcrowded facility

Travis Weik, Editor, (New Castle) Courier-Times

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 10:22 AM

Some Henry County residents who might be on the wrong side of the law spent Thanksgiving weekend in Blackford County.

As of Monday, eight people awaiting their trials in Henry County court are staying at the Blackford County Security Center in Hartford City.

Just over a week ago, the sheriff up in Blackford County agreed to house local inmates as a “courtesy” to help with Henry County’s overcrowding problem.

Major Jay Davis, chief deputy of the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, said the first inmates moved to Blackford County Nov. 23.

Davis said the agreement with Blackford County is to house local inmates for around $35 per day. The jail is also only about an hour away from New Castle.

Davis said another benefit is that Blackford County uses the same medical provider as Henry County Jail. This means patient records and medications don’t have to switch systems. The nursing staff up there even work under the same regional supervisor as the local staffers. Together, that means Henry County inmates will get more consistent medical care, even in Hartford City.

“It’s eliminated a couple headaches with medications,” Davis said.

Henry County Sheriff Ric McCorkle has been working with other county sheriffs for several months to alleviate some of the overcrowding at the Henry County Jail.

The county commissioners signed a contract with Elkhart County to house inmates for $40 per day. As of Monday, there are 20 Henry County inmates in that facility: 10 sentenced and 10 non-sentenced. The Elkhart County Correctional Complex is three hours from New Castle.

Commissioner Kim Cronk said Monday there is no signed contract with Blackford County.

Another way Henry County is reducing the jail population is by housing 76 local inmates in the Transition Center across the street from the jail.

As of Monday, the Henry County Jail itself had 99 inmates.

County leaders are currently awaiting information from contractors about more solutions to replace the Henry County Jail.

Some ideas include temporary “pod” housing and partially converting the youth detention center by Memorial Park to house female jail inmates.

Henry County Commissioners stop kicking the jail can on down the road; asks companies to propose new facility to house more than 300 offenders
Henry County officials examine several options to fix overcrowded conditions at jail which was built for a maximum of 76 inmates
Henry County considering 0.2 percent income tax that could help finance a new jail
Madison County votes to end discussions with Henry County about the possibility of a joint regional jail
Gibson County gets two options for new county jail: one $31.2 million and another for $38.9 million
New Henry County jail could help pay for itself: Sheriff says I.C.E. prisoners could bring $70 per day
Indiana continues to grapple with county jail overcrowding: Boost in inmates, lack of funding, more part of the problem

HOME

Editor, John C. DePrez Jr.; Executive Editor, Carol Rogers; Publishers: IBRC and IAR