The Pulaski County Justice Center is now housing federal inmates. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county commissioners Monday that the first 10 arrived last week. “We’re supposed to get 10 more this week and then another five, so we’ll be up to 25,” he said. “We’re not housing any Howard County people now. We do have four Level 6 that we’re housing for the state, that pays us to do that.”
Richwine says the inmates are coming from the federal court in Fort Wayne. “We’ll be transporting a few people that once they get sentenced, I think they’re going to send them here, we’ll house them for three or four days and then run them to Chicago, and they head on to prison,” he explained. “So most of these people are people that are waiting in the court process. We won’t house anybody for real long. Maybe 180 days will be the most we can have one person here because they get through the system and then they would either be found not guilty or they would get found guilty and sent to prison.”
The sheriff said he’s heard concerns about federal inmates being released in Pulaski County. He said if it happens at all, it would be extremely rare.
Richwine added that Pulaski County stands to make a significant amount of money over the course of the three-year contract. “If we keep the 25 and we keep around the same number of the state people – that money all goes to the general fund – it could be about $1.7 million over the three years,” he said.
The sheriff’s department will have to hire two part-time people to transport the inmates. Richwine said they will be paid $18 an hour by the federal government.
