Column: Building a 500-bed jail in Monroe County goes against our community values

I want to approach this as respectfully as I can, because I appreciate all the work that everyone is doing to move us forward on the path towards a new jail.

I’ve read enough to know that new jails are often considerably larger than the ones they replace — not just because of an increase in beds, but due to modern safety improvements, better services, increases in programing, and flexibility of operations. But the recent jail feasibility study recommends two pods accommodating 250-280 beds each — configured to expand to four pods if needed — set on at least 20 acres of land.

That means 500-560 beds with the possibility of accommodating 1,000-1,120 in the distant future on a piece of land that would be difficult to put near any existing services.

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The way I see it, this doesn’t align with our values. The study’s suggestion of 512 beds comes from averaging the number of beds per 1,000 residents in 7 Indiana counties (3.66), multiplying that by Monroe County’s 140,000 residents, and adding a classification factor at 20%.

I find the figure 512 to be unacceptable. Our current capacity is listed at 294.

I challenge our community to call for a more humane, safe, and efficient jail without increasing that figure. I realize that asking for a new design and plan may mean slowing the project down, but this is not just letting perfect be the enemy of good. We need a justice center that reflects our ideals, not one that keeps pace with the trends of other counties who may not aspire to the standards of justice that our community holds.

Please use your platform to improve upon this proposal. I believe we can do better.

Matt Caldie is a former candidate for Monroe County Council.