Tours of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center will be offered until at least 6 tomorrow evening. The public is invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the state-of-the-art facility on State Road 8 at 550 East. Tours will be offered after the noon formal program and memorial garden ceremony. They were originally scheduled until 4 p.m., but the county commissioners and Sheriff Bill Dulin have agreed to extend them so people can stop by after work. Tours will be offered as long as people are in line waiting to see the inside of the building. Dulin and his command staff will also be on hand to answer questions. Food will also be served.
The new 146 bed facility will double the capacity of the existing jail. It will offer video visitation between inmates and their loved ones. County officials hope this will cut down on contraband that is smuggled into the facility. Other amenities include cells designed for ease of maintenance without disrupting inmates and state-of-the-art monitoring systems. A courtroom on-site will be set up for video arraignment to lessen the need to transport prisoners to the Starke County Courthouse for proceedings.
The new building will also house the county’s 911 center and administrative offices for the sheriff.
Prisoners will be moved from the existing jail on June 1st. That building will be remodeled to accommodate Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department.
