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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMarion County jail officials have started transferring inmates to a new $600 million jail and court complex on Indianapolis’ east side.
Two vans of detainees were taken Saturday morning to the Community Justice Campus, The Indianapolis Star reported.
About 2,200 general population inmates at two old county jails are to be moved to the new facility by the end of January.
The vans had a police escort Saturday.
“We take this very seriously,” Sheriff Kerry Forestal said. “We don’t want to be approached when the vans are moving point to point. Anybody who had a foolish idea, thought this was the time to get their friend out, they would be met with heavy resistance. Nobody’s going to leave this motorcade.”
From Friday night to early Saturday morning, inmate workers at the City-County Building and low-level offenders at Marion County Jail II also were transferred. The sheriff’s office moved about 200 women and some juvenile detainees on Jan. 10, Forestal said.
The 770,000-square-foot (71,535-square-meter) jail has capacity for 3,000 inmates, 500 more than the combined capacity at the old jails and City-County Building.
The sheriff’s office administrative team already has moved to the new campus. Deputies with the judicial enforcement division will remain at the City-County Building until the courts move to the complex. That is expected to happen by the end of February, according to the newspaper.
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