Sheriff dept. no longer housing state prisoners

LUDINGTON — Effective today, the Mason County Sheriff’s Department is no longer housing inmates from the Michigan Department of Corrections. For the past year the county jail has provided up to 20 beds for the inmates, housing them for up to a year. Most of the inmates were in the last year of a mandatory two year sentence for weapons offenses.

According to a press release from the sheriff’s department, the decision was made due to a greater than normal average daily jail population. The Mason County jail is rated as a 110 bed facility.

“With the number of local inmates and the number of inmates here on probation and parole violations, steps had to be taken to reduce inmate numbers,” Sheriff Kim Cole said. “Housing MDOC inmates left little flexibility in call assignments and for accomplishing routine maintenance.”

Cole said he is exploring alternatives to housing MDOC inmates to ensure a revenue source to offset jail operating expenses. Implementing any alternatives will be based on jail population, allowing for flexibility and will conform to the totality of all jail operational needs.