NEW JAIL MAKES DIFFERENCE, OFFICIALS SAY

Lowdown On Lockups: In Porter County, Philosophy Counts As Much As Facility

The new Porter County Jail, which is five years old now, is airy and
spacious. The floors still shine like the day back in 2002 when an
armed caravan herded all the inmates from the old jail.

Even though the inmate population slightly exceeds the advertised
454-bed capacity of the facility, officials say it isn't too crowded.
They say the jail could hold hundreds more because only two of the
three pods are being used.

The new jail is a far cry from the dilapidated, cramped, dirty and
smelly old facility. That 138-bed jail was so crowded that inmates
slept on floors and in hallways. The old building was designed in an
old-fashioned style that made it impossible to effectively monitor inmates.

Jail officials said the improved physical characteristics of the new
jail are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to having a
relatively problem-free jail. The rest is philosophy.

"Our whole atmosphere is set up that we treat the inmates and expect
the inmates to treat the officers on a respectful level," said Warden
John J. "Joe" Widup, who was 2005 Indiana Correctional Association
Correctional Officer of the Year.

Sheriff David Lain said a Porter County Jail officer was in another
county's jail to pick up an inmate and heard inmates calling the
guards derogatory names. Amid that, a former Porter County Jail
inmate noticed the Porter County officer and said, "Good to see you."

Assistant Warden Ron Gaydos said the jail's mission statement calls
for a safe jail for inmates and staff, professionalism for officers
and a desire to help inmates. Still, it is jail.

"It's no picnic," Lain said. "You ask any inmate, and they'll say
they hate it here."

But Lain said complaints are few.

Gaydos said Porter County puts its jail officers through a 240-hour
orientation and training, six times what is required at other jails.

"I think our training compares to no other jail I've observed," Widup said.

Gaydos and Widup said a high percentage of Porter County's jailers
are college graduates, and they say professionalism is stressed.

"Day one we set the tone -- what's expected of the officers, what's
expected of the inmates," Gaydos said.

Lain said the jail staff has been able to keep problems to a minimum
by classifying inmates as they come in, so like inmates are placed
together. In addition, the jail has 192 surveillance cameras
monitoring the inmates' moves, and the jail is designed in a pod
system so it is easy to watch over inmates.

The jail provides the inmates with cable television.

"Cable TV is not for the inmates," Lain said.

"It's a privilege that allows us to have a control measure. That's
something we can deny them if there's a violation of rules in a cell block."

The population in the 454-bed facility has risen as high as 550, and
currently averages 450 to 500.

"It all falls back to how well you control the population," Lain said.

"We've been able to gain compliance, and we've seen a drastic
reduction in the conflicts you're going to associate with jail life."

Lain said Porter County benefits financially by renting its space to
house state and federal inmates. The state and federal inmates
currently make up 20 percent to 25 percent of the jail population.

Eventually, however, as the jail population grows, the county will
have to end its reliance on federal and state inmates and instead
dedicate the entire jail space to its local inmates.

Lain said the average jail population has been dropping for the past
two years as judges and the community corrections programs in the
state work to arrange alternative sentences for offenders.

"It's not up to us. We have to work in concert with the judges and
probation," Lain said.

Only two out of three pods are open at the jail because there are not
enough jail officers to staff it. Eventually, the county will need to
come up with enough money to hire more jailers, so the third pod can open.

"We're still overcrowded, there's no question about it," Lain said.

"It's a foregone conclusion we will open the third pod."