GREENFIELD — What’s the risk of just maintaining the status quo, of not building a jail and just letting the current facility stand?
In short: a lawsuit.
As it stands right now, the Hancock County Jail is out of compliance with several state and federal regulations aimed at keeping inmates safe and properly cared for, according to officials at the sheriff’s department.
In February 2017, leaders of the sheriff’s department presented the county council and commissioners with a letter from the Indiana Department of Correction’s jail commander that states the county is “failing to provide the sheriff with a facility that meets Indiana standards.”
The document outlines a series of violations, including: not providing each inmate with a fixed bed (some Hancock County inmates sleep on plastic cots on the floor); not maintaining a one to 12 ratio for showers and toilets per inmate; and not providing at least 70 square feet of space per inmate.
If an inmate files a lawsuit and wins, the state or federal government can swoop in and force the county to build a new jail, giving elected officials and voters little input on the cost or the design, Commissioner John Jessup said.
The county is already up against a lawsuit regarding overcrowding at the local jail.
A former inmate sued the sheriff’s department last year after he was beaten by a fellow inmate. His lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s department of failing to “adequately staff the Hancock County Jail,” and therefore failing to protect the inmate, according to court documents.
The case is pending, records show.