A Hancock County Sheriff jailer directs prisoners into the new jail complex. Friday, June 10, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — Dressed in green khakis and a black law enforcement shirt, Sheriff Brad Burkhart took the bolt cutters in his hand and cut off a pair of stubborn handcuffs from an inmate.
There was a flurry of activity inside the county’s new jail processing area as inmates were officially transferred to the new facility Friday afternoon. After getting off of a transport bus, inmates were shuffled inside a room where shackles were removed. An individual search was then performed before inmates were sent to their new cells.
“I’m just glad this day is finally here,” Burkhart said.
The transfer of the inmates from the old county jail at 123 E. Main St. in Greenfield to the new jail located on 20 acres north of U.S. 40 between County Roads 400E and 500E took several weeks to plan. Officials put up signs and closed off roads and blocked entrances to streets near the old jail with barriers around noon Friday.
Two specialized inmate transfer buses — the size of school buses but with bars on the windows — from the Indiana Department of Corrections arrived outside of the Hancock County Community Corrections facility, known as “Jail 2” around 1:30 p.m. Shortly afterward, officials started the process of loading inmates for the 10-minute ride east to the new $43 million facility.
Major Bobby Campbell, the Sheriff’s chief deputy, told the Daily Reporter that officials expected the transfer could take up to 12 hours to complete. Law enforcement loaded the inmates, a bus at a time, and staggered the trips to allow time for processing. Officials estimated they’d make around 12 trips from one jail to the other to transfer all 246 inmates, taking special care of the maximum security inmates.
The move, kept quiet by Burkhart until shortly before the transfer for safety reasons, happened under the watchful eye of several law enforcement agencies. Officers from the county’s SWAT team, the Greenfield Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, IDOC and K-9 officers all participated in the transfer.
“We used an overabundance of caution with a lot of police presence to make sure this was a safe transfer,” said Capt. Robert Harris, public information for the sheriff’s department.
Harris noted not even the inmates were aware they were being transferred until the event started to happen. In addition to transferring the inmates, officials also had to take inmate personal items.
Officials from the IDOC, who specialize in inmate and prison transfers, provided the transportation sending the two buses and personnel to take the inmates to the new 135,000-square-foot, 446-bed facility where 107,000 of the space is dedicated to the jail and the rest is set aside for administrative offices.
An official from the IDOC stood with Harris on the sidewalk in front of the Community Corrections building as the first transfer bus with 12 inmates pulled away. Harris noted the IDOC is used to dealing with large numbers of inmates and officials there know how to keep inmate transfers secure.
“They sent some of their (IDOC) people out and we used their handcuffs, belly chains and shackles on all the inmates so even if they wanted to run or had the chance, they couldn’t,” Harris said. “They would not be able to move their hands or arms or anything.”
Harris noted the transfer of the inmates from the old jail to the new facility is a historic event for the county. With the exception of old case files, some dating as far back as the 1800s, and some other items still located at the old jail, the transfer from the old facility to the new one is pretty much complete.
“Moving the inmates is the most complicated logistical step that we have,” Harris said. “Once they’re all safe and secure in their new cells, that takes a huge weight off our shoulders knowing that step is complete.”
Before the inmates were transferred, Harris said the county’s jail staff worked all week testing procedures at the new facility to make sure they were ready to handle the inmates.
“Our jail staff has been here all day, every day running mock scenarios, testing all the systems just to make sure everything is functioning properly,” Harris said.
The move from the old jail to the new is a substantial step up for the county in terms of inmate capacity and will resolve a longstanding problem with overcrowding. It will also give the sheriff’s department space to explore new programs.
While Burkhart had originally wanted to have the inmates transferred months ago, delays in construction pushed the opening of the new facility back several months. Burkhart and county officials held an opening ceremony on May 1 and noted at the time that it would take a few more weeks before jail staff and officials settled in and would be ready for the inmates.
“Has it been that long?” Burkhart said with a laugh. “I know it’s been a long overall process — over two and a half years —but we are finally fully functional.”
