Alpena County Sheriff Office Tours Continues Before November Election
Presentations are currently being held to educate northeast Michigan residents about the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office plans for a new jail. The first stop this week was to visit the Rotary Club.
November 7th is quickly approaching and the vote to approve or not approve a millage for a new jail is too. Monday members of the Rotary Club listened as Sheriff Kieliszewski provided factual information about the jail project.
Built in 1956, the jail has become the home to health hazards for both jail staff and inmates. A top concern of Kieliszewski’s includes the capacity of inmates and dealing with new types of inmates.
“It’s got to get done folks. It’s not a matter of if it’s a matter of when. We have to get this done. We can’t continue to incarcerate inmates the way that we have, we have to do better with dealing with inmates who have mental health issues,” Kieliszewski said.
Location and the journey for booking inmates was another hot topic.
“We have to be sensitive of the city as well because they are concerned about travel time and everything else. But it doesn’t matter if the jail is built on M-32 or if it’s built on US-23, or Hamilton. The amount of time it takes to book an inmate is going to remain the same. The only difference it’s going to be is travel time. Depending on where you’re at if you’re on the south side of Alpena and you need to get to the north side of Alpena it might be quicker just to go on M–65. It’s 4 miles. That’s what 6 to 8 minutes to travel that distance,” he said.
As a past law enforcement officer serving in California, Rotary President, and Dr. Robert Lang said the ban aids are well over due when it comes to the safety of both inmates and staff.
“Even though they are inmates they have rights too. Those inmates should be housed in a clean and safe environment, and the workers that are in there,” President of the Rotary Club, Dr. Robert Lang said.
According to the sheriff maximum capacity of 80 percent has been reached a number of times in 2017. Jail tours are currently being offered every Thursday this month to give insights on conditions of the jail.
