State allows Ramsey County jail to return to full operations

The Ramsey County jail can go back to a higher capacity at the end of the month, after the state lifts restrictions ordered early this year when low staffing levels were deemed too dangerous for inmates.

Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Paul Schnell sent a letter Monday notifying Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher of the change resuming "full operations" at the jail and setting a new capacity of 414 beds — lower than the jail's previous maximum, but higher than the 324 it was allowed under the restrictions.

Ramsey County Public Health Department workers had raised concerns over jail conditions, and a state investigation found in February that low staffing levels meant "imminent risk of life-threatening harm" to those in jail.

The Department of Corrections, which regulates county jails in Minnesota, issued a conditional license order after finding that the Ramsey County jail had violated standards by:

The conditional licensing order describes several incidents where people in jail did not receive required medical treatment, including one incident where it took more than an hour to call an ambulance for a person believed to have had a stroke.

The DOC lifted the restrictions after assessing a plan the Sheriff's Office submitted to correct issues, and an inspection. In the action plan, the Sheriff's Office said the jail's population increase stemmed from factors "including but not limited to the court backlog following the pandemic and increases in violent crime."

"We've never had more violent people in our jail than today. So as we evolve through the court system and everyone gets to trial, the atmosphere will improve," Fletcher said in an interview.

Under the terms of the conditional license, the Ramsey County jail was required to reduce its maximum capacity from 492 to 324 beds.

The plan the Sheriff's Office submitted to the DOC to correct concerns outlines changes to staffing levels, including a proposal — subject to County Board approval — to add 12 correctional officers, as well as make changes to medical care and well-being checks.

Fletcher said Friday that his office has hired seven additional corrections employees and made changes to protocol — and things have already improved.

"Everything that they alerted us to in February has been addressed with additional staffing and a better relationship between Public Health and the Sheriff's Office, and operational improvements in terms of supervision and ensuring the wellness checks," Fletcher said.

Ramsey County Board Chair Trista Martinson said she hoped that the plan to bring up staffing levels will work.

"I think that they've made good plans," Martinson said. "We've seen some adjustments and changes that are necessary already have been made and then they came to us with a pretty strong staffing proposal."

Complying with the order has cost Ramsey County additional money in transportation and per diem boarding costs this year — costs Fletcher estimated at more than $2 million in 2023.

"It was necessary in order to get things right and correct some things to prevent harm in the jail," Martinson said. The County Board transferred funds to the Sheriff's Office to cover those costs.

Fletcher has come under fire by the board for exceeding his department's budget. Martinson said the plan submitted to the County Board and DOC laid out a way to stay within the 2024 budget, which is up for approval in December.