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December 21, 1999
Doing time inBrown CountyJail population is mixof county andout-of-county offendersBy SARA SYVERSON Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- The Brown County jail was built in 1994 with "room to grow" and it has been growing quite well. "It's been interesting moving to the new jail," said Brown County Jail Administrator Paul Wieland, "The old jail was built in 1903...it had been remodeled several times, and it was no longer functional." The jail also holds inmates from other counties as well as other countries. It has a capacity of up to 51 beds. After moving to the new facility, adjustments needed to be made, Wieland. Currently, the jail is holding 31 inmates; 18 are out-of-county inmates; and 13 are from the county. Eight of the inmates are being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, also known as INS. These inmates are either awaiting further court hearings or waiting for deportation back to the countries from which they came. Some of the inmates are from places such as, Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. They entered the penal system when arrested for a criminal violation, and subsequent background checks indicated that they were in the United States with proper documentation. In 1998, the total number of jail bookings was 737, compared to 753 in 1999 through November. The total amount of money being paid to the county jail from out-of-county inmates totaled $424,964 in 1998, compared to $290,2201 in the first 11 months of 1999. The total amount paid to the county by Huber (work release) payments totaled $51,014 in 1998, compared to $39,628 so far this year. Huber payments are collected when an inmates serves their sentence on work release. and the jail charges $12 per night for the inmate to stay there for the duration of the sentence. A total of $55 per day is charged by the jail for out-of county inmates. The number of out-of-county inmates has decreased slightly this year, according to Wieland. This decline occurred when Kandiyohi and Watonwan counties made changes in their jail systems. Kandiyohi County is leasing a number of beds from Meeker County, which recently built a jail. Watonwan County has remodeled its jail and is now able to hold inmates for longer periods of time. "It goes in peaks and valleys (bookings)," said Wieland. One of the major benefits of the new jail has been the easy accessibility to the courthouse. The Brown County jail holds men and women inmates as well as some juveniles who have legally been declared "adults". Fifteen correctional officers are on the staff. Their responsibility is to ensure that prisoners conform to jail procedures, which are designed for security and safety. "We haven't had any major incidents," said Wieland, "The staff is really good here." A jail programmer, head dispatch/correctional officer, and jail administrator complete the staff. The jail programmer is in charge of setting up work releases for the inmates, arranging religious programming, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and organizing what would be needed for inmates to earn their GEDs (General Equivalency Diploma). The correctional officers control everything from the jail control tower, such as opening and closing doors and cells, televisions, and the water for showers. "There's constant movement here," said Wieland, "The inmates are in their cells by 10:30 p.m. and released from their cells by 7:30 a.m." Every half-hour the correctional officers do a check to make sure everyone is accounted for in the facility. Inmates sleep in cells that are approximately 7 feet by 11 feet. Wieland said that jails are usually considered full at 75 percent capacity. For Brown County that would equal approximately 38 inmates. The number of possible inmates at any given time depends on the number of male and female prisoners and available cells. Another factor is minimum, medium and maximum security requirements of prisoners. "We need extra space to separate the inmates at times," said Wieland, "We're not here to make life more miserable for them. We're just here to watch over them while they are here."
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