INDIANAPOLIS — Cities like Beech Grove and Southport say public safety is at risk because of the burden of jail transports in Marion County.
Taking people to jail largely shifted in 2022, from the Marion County Sheriff's Office to local police departments.
Some say that's created compromised safety over the past year in smaller communities.
Taking people to jail takes time - a lot of it.
That's something smaller departments like Southport say they don't have, especially if the person arrested is injured, for example in a crash, and has to go to the hospital.
"I mean, when's the last time you've been in an emergency room? You're looking anywhere 5, 8, 10 hours that you have an officer sitting there," said Southport Police Chief Tom Vaughn.
It could be weeks, if the person's admitted, taking police off patrol for all of it.
"The excluded cities are really the ones who are suffering the most. we simply do not have the manpower to take off the streets to take care of these problems," said Southport Mayor Jim Cooney.
Police chiefs in the five excluded cities outside Indy warned about this right before 2022, when the Marion County sheriff, citing staffing shortages and financial strain, shifted jail transport to local police.
And while the sheriff's office eventually agreed to allow deputies to still take care of jail transports on violent offenders, some cities say the burden of transporting the rest is compromising safety in their communities.
Less manpower, fewer officers on patrol, even officers facing a diffcult decision - not making some arrests so they don't get stuck off the streets.
"Maybe they have a warrant, maybe you're not arresting on that warrant - just allowing them to go to the hospital and then trying to pick them up when they're released from the hospital," Vaughn said. "You're trying to look at how can we keep more officers on the street for those runs and crimes happening versus sitting them in the hospital for a half a day, a day, who knows how long that'll be."
He worries about the consequences.
"You don't arrest him on that warrant. He goes out and something happens? And you're like, 'I had him yesterday,'" Vaughn said.
Vaughn doesn't blame the sheriff and said he understands they're understaffed. But he and some city mayors say higher deputy pay would solve the problem.
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley recently emailed the City-County Council with his concerns.
"I blame that on the City-County Council," Buckley said.
He said they should be budgeting more so the sheriff's office can hire and retain more deputies and transport all detainees like they used to.
"They can do that," Buckley said. "They have the leverage to do that and they won't do it."
We did reach out to the sheriff, the Indianapolis controller and the City-County Council.
The council president didn't respond. The sheriff's office sent over the agreement they made with excluded cities about jail transport. And an Indianapolis spokesperson said the controller has been boosting salaries for deputies to try to boost staff.
The city's statement read:
“The Controller’s Office has remained in contact with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Marion County law enforcement agencies regarding staffing and salaries over the past several years, both during the annual budgeting process and beyond. Those conversations have resulted in a number of pay increases for personnel, including:
- Implementation of a new salary scale that increased deputy starting salary by 23% in 2021
- Bonuses for all MSCO deputies in 2020, 2021 and 2022
- Signing bonuses for new deputies and incentives for current staff to take additional shifts for 2022 and 2023
Conversations between agencies will continue, out of a shared interest for a safer community.”
Here is a statement from Councillor Frank Mascari whose district includes Beech Grove and who serves on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee:
"The City-County Council has continued to make significant investments in the Sherriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies. As a member of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, my colleagues and I on the Council worked to ensure that the Sherriff's Office is adequately funded to better support their current team and attract and retain new deputies. Public safety is and will always remain a top priority for my colleagues and I on the Council, and we will continue to work and advocate for the necessary funding to keep our city safe."