Scott County Could Merge Jails with Carver County; Inmate Influx Possible

When the Scott County Jail was built in Shakopee in 2005, crime was on the rise in the county and the facility's 264 beds seemed a reasonable way to accommodate for expected population growth.

But the suburbs and exurbs haven't grown as expected, there are fewer young adults in the 15- to 24-year-old age range and the county's jail has seen a marked drop in its average number of inmates.

Now, officials are considering merging the jails of Scott and Carver county, the Star Tribune is reporting.

Carver's jail, constructed in 1994, is facing many similar challenges to the jail in Shakopee. In the last four years, the average inmate population between the two jails has dropped by 16 percent, from 222 to 186.

“A lot of dollars could be saved," Scott County Administrator Gary Shelton told the Star Tribune. "We’re not sure about other impacts.”

Options officials are considering include closing one of the jails—likely the smaller Carver County facility—or assigning different types of inmates to different jails.

The Star Tribune has more on resistance to the proposal:

Early opposition is coming from judges, officials say. One option is to shift all criminal courts to one side of the Minnesota River, creating more specialized courts on both sides — criminal and civil — but that is an unappetizing feature for some.

Nor are sheriffs totally keen. Their staffs are on the line, and they want to make sure lots of extra transport time doesn’t compromise public safety.

But commissioners on both sides, noting that there are shared jails in other parts of the state, want to explore the idea.

“If it saves money, why not?” said Scott County Commissioner Dave Menden. Added colleague Tom Wolf: “I just hope everyone comes to this with an open mind.”