Tippecanoe County Jail, like most others across Indiana and even across the country are forced to deal creatively with funding and overcrowding on a daily basis. Budget crunches only serve to push jail administrators to get even more innovative with where they spend and where they save.
In a Special Report from WLFI we learn that the Tippecanoe Sheriff’s Department and County Jail account for 25% of the entire county’s fiscal budget. And of that $9 million, the jail accounts for more than $3 million.
For some people that’s a surprise. For others who have seen similar such expenditures in other counties, it’s no surprise at all. Between staffing, building maintenance, food, and utilities, it doesn’t take long to add up $3 million.
And if you think the majority of people sitting in the County Jail are serving time for a crime, you would be seriously mistaken. Actually, only about 4% of bookings are for a crime committed in Tippecanoe County. About ¼ are brought in on a warrant and the second most common offense is public intoxication.
Sheriff Brown acknowledges public safety is a concern but also says that balancing this issue with cost is crucial. Holding people in the jail that aren’t really a risk for themselves or the community isn’t really serving any purpose and certainly not justice.
Being held in jail until trial can be extremely stressful. Afterall, you haven’t been found guilty but you are behind bars nonetheless. Being granted bail is a blessing for many people and something that many don’t ever see.
The likelihood that you will be in jail until your case is resolved can be frightening. There are several chances for a judge to visit the issue of bail between your arrest and your trial date, however. Things like the offense and your criminal history are taken into consideration when a judge makes this kind of determination.
As defense attorneys, we have presented clients to judges as the productive members of the community that they are. If you have a job and a family in the community, you can’t care for them very well in jail. Sometimes ties like this are what a judge needs to see to believe justice would be better served with you free rather than locked up.
If you or a family member are facing charges and have questions about bail, contact our lawyers today for a consultation on your case.