BEDFORD — Sheriffs in Lawrence and Orange counties have signed an agreement to cooperate in a way that might be unique.
The Orange County jail will take female inmates from the Lawrence County jail to avoid overcrowding. Lawrence County will pay $35 per inmate and retain responsibility for the inmates’ needs (such as transportation and medical care). The agreement is expressed in a formal contract signed by Lawrence County Sheriff Sam Craig and Orange County Sheriff Richard Dixon.
Jails have swapped inmates before, sometimes to avoid violence when two people clash behind bars. But Dixon said the contract for women is unusual.
“This is the first time in my memory this has been done in this way,” he said.
Craig and county officials have been keeping a close eye on the jail census for some time. The Lawrence County jail has a capacity of 168 inmates; 32 of those slots are for women.
“Our female count for the past few months has been running high. ... We’ve just been pushing that number,” said Craig, noting that 28 women were behind bars Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the jail in Paoli typically has only four to five female inmates at a time.
“We’ve basically got an 18-bed, dorm-style block here,” Dixon said. “We’ve got excess capacity.”
The two sheriffs struck a deal that’s similar to the arrangement the Indiana Department of Correction has made with county officials to house state inmates.
If the need arises, Orange County will hold up to 10 female inmates from Lawrence County for the $35-per-person, per-day fee.
The three-page contract notes that Lawrence County will be “solely responsible for transporting” the women. Lawrence County also “shall be solely responsible for paying for any and all medical expenses that may be required for said female inmates,” according to the contract.
There is no requirement for Lawrence County to send inmates to Orange County. And either side can cancel the pact by giving the other side 30 days notice.
Craig said inmates will be sent to Orange County only if there is no room at the jail in Bedford. And he said they won’t be kept in Paoli long.
“It’ll just be a temporary situation until we can get them to court,” he said.
Lawrence County Chief Deputy Mike Branham presented the idea to the county council Tuesday (Craig was ill that evening). The council allocated $5,000 to cover expenses for the rest of this year.
Craig said that, with the number of female inmates pushing the maximum, it was important to make arrangements before the county faced a crisis.
“We didn’t want to wait until we hit it, then try to solve it,” he said. “We wanted to be a little bit proactive.”
Dixon expressed similar sentiments.
“This is basically an option that Lawrence County will have,” he said. “Hopefully it will work out well.”