KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — As construction on the addition at the Knox County Sheriff’s Office is nearing completion, Sheriff Doug Vantlin said he expects to begin moving inmates into the new jail pods in about two weeks.
“The main part of the jail, where the beds are, the pods, and shell, the empty shell that we’ve got, those are being finished now, actually they’re putting paint on this week,” Vantlin said.
The new addition will add 108 beds in pods. Plus an additional shell to allow for the potential of adding more beds if needed down the road. It will also feature a new conference room and training room.
“Right off the bat, we’re going to take 40 of those 108 beds,” Vantlin said as he spoke about overcrowding in the old cells.
At completion, the sheriff said the Knox County Jail will be able to hold around 340 inmates in total.
“We will have to add some additional jailers as time goes on,” Vantlin said. “Now, the County Council last year did give us four additional jail officers after the first of the year and we’re in the process of getting those positions filled now. As the bed space gets taken up, with more inmates we’ll have to add more jail officers on.”
Sheriff Vantlin said they’ve got a list to go through once things are completed. “We’ll go through everything,” he said. “Security system, alarms. The locks, video. Make sure all of it’s working like it’s supposed to be and we’ll mark it off if it is. If it’s not, we won’t mark it off, then they got to come back and fix it,” he said.
Once everything checks out, they’ll move inmates over one pod at a time. Noble Parish, Jail Commander, said this will allow them to work on maintenance in the old areas.
“As soon as it’s done we can work on upkeep and maintenance on our existing. Painting plumbing cleaning,” Parish said.
Vantlin said he expects the jail construction to wrap up soon. “I had a meeting with them today and we’re looking within two weeks about the middle or third week of January,” he said.
“The ends in sight now,” Parish said. “I’m ready to have it done and get the facility fully operational and get comfortable in our new surroundings.”
Vantlin said before moving over the inmates they’ll hold an open house, an opportunity for the community to have a look at how tax dollars were spent.
