Minnesota DFL state senator Randy Kelly chairs the Senate Crime Prevention and Judiciary Budget Committee. He says there have been no serious discussions at the legislature about jail space statewide. He says in the early 90s the state did help build juvenile detention centers around the state. So there's certainly a precedent for the state legislature helping local communities to do this in a juvenile area, and I suspect if the need was demonstrated by counties across the state the state would certainly be willing to entertain it. The state legislature rejected a statewide jail plan proposed in the mid-1980s because it was too expensive.
New jails are costly.
Senator Kelly says the answer may be regional facilities that serve several counties. The Department of Corrections has told Tri-County Corrections in Crookston there is no option but to build a bigger jail. County officials say they don't have the money. Director Susan Mills says a new jail would make her job easier, but it's simply a Band-Aid for serious social problems. Mills says a look at the number of juveniles already in the justice system shows the next, larger generation of jail inmates is already on the way.