As a former corrections officer, public safety is a subject that is close to my heart. My goal will be to do everything in my power to make sure that our public safety departments are fully equipped to do the job that they must do. This may include authorizing funding or even utilizing my influence and position to apply pressure to those that may be able to get things done. This may include finding creative solutions and considering the input of those who do the job every day. This also includes trying to anticipate the needs before they occur.
One concern I have had was how the proposal for a new jail was handled only a few years ago. As I mentioned earlier, the population of the county has continued to grow. One sad fact is when a population grows, crime increases. According to Marshall County Jail reports, the current jail has 233 beds. The most current Jail report on the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department website is for July 2023. In this reports it shows that the average population increased from 127.6 in July 2022 to 162. That is a massive increase. While other reports do have some slight current deviation, the trend typically remains the same that the average continues to grow despite the claims of Jesse Bohannon that they are moving inmates through the legal system faster.
You may ask why this is a concern. In 2006, Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department moved in to a brand-new jail that they were forced to have built because of civil rights lawsuits regarding overcrowding. During my time as an officer at their old jail in Goshen, we had a capacity of approximately 350 but often had 500 -700. This was not only a civil rights violation that led to expensive litigation but also affected officer safety. If the population of Marshall County continues to grow then the county may very well find itself with the same problem without the foresight to correct it ahead of time.