Sheriff’s office getting 3 new vehicles

Jay County Sheriff’s Office will be getting a few new vehicles.

A few other projects, including replacing lights and resurfacing inmates’ beds at Jay County Jail, are also in the works.

Jay County Commissioners OK’d Sheriff Ray Newton purchasing two new patrol vehicles and a new transport van for his department Monday.

Jay County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Ben Schwartz explained the department has been using a 2014 Dodge Caravan for transporting inmates. The vehicle, which has about 170,000 miles on it, has a makeshift divider installed by a previous sheriff’s department administration, said Schwartz. 

“We’re not sure how safe it is to be driving it,” he said, noting the van has windows without bars.

He added that inmates have attempted to escape from the van several times, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage.

Schwartz presented quotes from FR Conversions out of Westminster, Maryland, Statewide Ford of Van Wert, Ohio, and John Jones Police Pursuit Vehicles of Salem. He advocated for purchasing a conversion van from FR Conversions, noting it has individual front-facing seats with harnesses for each occupant. (Schwartz said offers from Statewide Ford and John Jones Police Pursuit Vehicles were for cargo vehicles with “prisoner insert,” meaning occupants would share a bench seat with no seat belts.)

The van from FR Conversions, a 2024 Ram Promaster 2500 priced at $82,667, seats between nine and 12 passengers. 

It comes without a camera system or lights, although Newton shared plans to have those installed after it is delivered.

Schwartz also asked commissioners to approve purchasing two new patrol vehicles. Currently, the department has a 2017 Ford Explorer with 163,000 miles on it and a 2018 Ford Explorer with 164,000 miles. They are the last Ford Explorers in the sheriff’s office fleet. (Indiana police departments have been shifting toward using Dodge Durangos as a standard pursuit car in recent years.)

Schwartz shared quotes from John Jones Police Pursuit Vehicles ($44,249 apiece), Statewide Ford ($48,336 apiece) and Thomas Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Highland ($43,887 apiece) for two new Dodge Durangos. He suggested the lowest offer from the Highland business and pointed to several past county purchases from there. 

Commissioners Doug Horn, Duane Monroe and Chad Aker approved purchasing the van from FR Conversions and the two Dodge Durangos from Thomas Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.

Newton added he would like to sell the old vehicles at the next auction for county equipment.

Also Monday, commissioners heard a request from Schwartz and Newton to invest in resurfacing inmates’ bed spaces. Schwartz noted the county purchased its pods originally from Steel Cell of Baldwin, Georgia, when it expanded the jail nearly 15 years ago. Protective coating on the beds has started flaking off and they need to be resurfaced, he continued.

To refurbish the beds in the county’s 25 cells — they house between two to four inmates each — would cost an estimated $105,158. Newton said he does not have funding in his budget but asked commissioners to keep the expense in mind moving forward.

“It’s something that we need to look at and make sure that we try to get this fixed,” he said.

In related business, commissioners also Monday:

•Agreed to move forward with drafting ordinances increasing county department heads’ spending limits. (Currently, department heads must seek approval from commissioners for purchases more than $1,000.) The potential ordinances would increase the limit to allow department heads to spend up to $5,000 on purchases without commissioner approval, as well as enter into contracts in the same fashion up to a certain dollar amount.

•Heard Newton ask to replace 52 ballasts for emergency lights and 44 exit lights at the  sheriff’s office and jail for approximately $23,297.80. Aker asked Newton to look into the cost to replace the whole fixtures for the 52 ballast lights.

•Approved an agreement with Briner Building of Bluffton to complete work not to exceed $5,000 for a wall structure in one of the cells at Jay County Jail

•Reviewed the 2024 activity report for Jay County Sheriff’s Office. Last year, county officers made 1,331 traffic stops — that’s up 450 from 2023 — 363 traffic citations, 237 criminal arrests and 21 arrests related to driving under the influence. Jay County investigated 378 accidents in 2024, with 302 resulting in property damage, 72 causing personal injury and four resulting in fatalities. Approximately 757 adult males and 252 adult females were processed through the jail, with the daily inmate population average at just under 89 inmates.