Indiana State Jails
Indiana, located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16th in population. The smallest state in the continental US west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis, the second largest of any state capital. Indiana shares its northern border with Michigan, eastern border with Ohio, southern and southeastern border with Kentucky and western border with Illinois. Throughout the state’s 92 counties there are 93 jail facilities with a combined rated capacity of 18,275 inmates. The Department of Corrections conducts jail inspections and enforces mandatory standards compliance.
County probation departments, with some state oversight, provide supervision to 131,291 probationers. The Department of Corrections supervises 10,637 parolees and administers a Community Corrections Act.
Total Population:
Population in Jail:
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The crime rate in Indiana is in line with the national average rate. Property crimes account for around 90.8% of the crime rate in Indiana which is 4% higher than the national rate. The remaining 9.2% are violent crimes and are about 25% lower than other states. Indiana has a rate 3% higher than the national average of incarcerated adults per 100,000.
Lake County Indiana is the second largest in population of the ninety-two counties in the State.
The current Lake County Jail sees some inmates being placed in newly constructed 'pods'. Each pod contains cells located on two levels within the pod. In the pods, all cell doors open into a communal day room where an inmate spends 14-16 hours per day. The biggest contrast between the existing jail and the popular model is the way supervision is accomplished. In the older jail correctional officers could only supervise inmates by frequent foot patrols through the sections. With the popular concept correctional officers are located in a secure area behind one-way glass. Officers are in direct visual contact with all activity in the pod at all times. This provided 560 additional beds for a total of 1,085 beds.
The Lake County Sheriff has created a Work Release Program, which was established to help reduce the population of the Lake County Jail and offset the cost of incarceration by placing non-violent, low-risk offenders in a secured work release facility. Low-risk, non-violent offenders sentenced to the Lake County Jail and deemed eligible for work release by the sentencing judiciary are eligible for participation in the Sheriff’s Work Release Program. Residents should have demonstrated ties to family and local community. The Sheriff’s Work Release targets misdemeanant offenders, but will accept felon offenders if ordered by the judiciary, and space is available.
Under Indiana Status, the Lake County Sheriff's Work Release Program is defined as an alternative to incarceration. The staff of the S.W.R program are responsible for monitoring the individuals sentenced to this program. It is the responsibility of the sentencing judiciary to determine a candidate’s eligibility by using the criteria previously listed. The Lake County Sheriffs Work Release Unit has been an extremely successful program. The success of this program is due largely to the appropriate placement of new candidates to SWR.
