Huntington County Sheriff Chris Newton presented an update about the Huntington County Jail, specifically about bringing in federal inmates and other current issues during the Dec. 11 meeting.
Newton said he expects that housing federal inmates as well as state and county inmates can bring in $1.3 million. Commissioner Terry Stoffel, a former Huntington County Sheriff, added that the new funds are helping to pay for Sheriff’s Department vehicles.
One concern Newton discussed is decreasing the potential for drug trafficking into the jail, noting that it has been an ongoing problem.
“There’s a new drug they are utilizing, it’s really popular in the prison system and we just found about it five months ago,” Newton said. “They’re putting liquid on the mail when it comes in and they’re handing it out to people. They’re getting high in the jail. Its colorless, odorless and you can’t even see it.”
Newton proposed having a company that would process the mail, scan in incoming mail and email it to the inmates. The attorney correspondence will still be handed, although they are exploring other ways to process that, he noted.
“Our jail staff will have to be really cognizant, open the mail in front of them (inmates) and scan the pages visually and hand it to them,” Newton said.
Additionally, he is seeking a program to handle Freedom of Information Act requests for video because certain things are required to be redacted on the videos, such as youths who appear in them and personal information. They want to comply but need to pay to redact the videos, he said.