Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has detailed plans to swiftly reduce the county jail's population as ordered by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, which says insufficient staffing levels pose serious physical harm to prisoners at the facility.
The move comes as Fletcher and county leaders debate who is responsible for the crowded jail conditions and as the board chair raises "command climate issues and the internal cultural issues" at the facility.
Dozens of prisoners will be moved to the county workhouse, jails in other counties and state prisons, Fletcher said in a letter sent Monday to Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Paul Schnell.
Schnell told Fletcher in a letter dated Friday that the jail must reduce its maximum operating capacity to 324 beds from 492. Schnell said an ongoing investigation has found violations of five state rules designed to ensure jails have enough staff on duty to keep the facilities' populations safe.
At the end of last week, the jail held about 370 prisoners, county spokeswoman Rose Lindsay said. That compares with 444 in October, but still exceeds the new mandate.
Schnell's letter instructed the jail to meet the new threshold by noon Wednesday.
In Fletcher's letter to Schnell, he outlined what he calls "action steps" to reduce the jail population immediately:
- Move 30 to 50 female prisoners to the county workhouse.
- Send 30 to 50 prisoners to jails in several counties in the Twin Cities and elsewhere in Minnesota.
- Arrange with the DOC to house 25 prisoners under "interim commitment," which refers to those who have been convicted and await sentencing.
- Request permission from the County Board to increase jail staffing levels.
Fletcher has said he has been aggressively recruiting and hiring more corrections officers but that county leaders must provide more resources and make better use of other facilities, such as the workhouse, for inmates.