COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Even though the intent is to build a new jail soon, the Branch County Sheriff’s Department is looking upgrade safety procedures at the current jail.
The Branch County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to bring forward to their regular meeting next week a pair of camera requests from Sheriff John Pollack. They also voted to bring a request for an intercom system in the Courthouse lockup cells forward to Tuesday but the approval would be contingent on grant funding.
Pollack is requesting six additional cameras at a quote of over $2,800 for the parts of the maximum cell area and other areas of the jail where coverage is lacking or non-existent. He said the cameras are portable enough that they can be moved into the new jail if the August millage question passes.
The Sheriff’s Department also wants to add five cameras and a DVR at a quote of just over $3,400 to the Animal Control building so they can monitor the activities of the inmates while they are working there.
The funds for the cameras and the DVR would come out of the departments Commissary funds.
The intercom request has a quote of over $12,000. County Administrator Bud Norman wanted to see what kind of grant funding would come from the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority. Pollack agreed to the request.
The Sheriff’s Department says they are experiencing an increase in the number of inmates having seizures in the Courthouse cells. They are concerned that an inmate may have a seizure and not have a way to communicate with them. Should an inmate have a seizure or injure themselves and the cameras are not being looked at, they may not be seen for seen for several minutes. That would prolong the response time for rescue crews and increase the county liability.
