Bloomington’s Monroe County jail sees increase in inmates

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Statistics show there was a 53 percent increase in the number of people booked into Bloomington’s Monroe County Correctional Center from 2016 to 2017.

Jail commander Sam Crowe recently told the Monroe County Council that the statistic is “staggering” and he estimates 90 percent of those booked into the county jail struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. The (Bloomington) Herald Timesreports the jail’s population is more than 300, which is higher than the building capacity of 294.

It’s also higher than a population cap of 278 inmates that the county agreed to with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana after a 2008 class-action lawsuit.

The problem persists even as judges have tried to help control the jail population by reviewing offender cases and determining who can be released without posing a public safety threat.