IC 11-12-4
    Chapter 4. Standards, Rules, and Construction of County Jails

IC 11-12-4-1
Adoption of minimum standards; requirements of standards;committee of sheriffs; views and suggestions of sheriffs and countycommissioners
    Sec. 1. (a) The department shall adopt under IC 4-22-2 minimumstandards for county jails governing:
        (1) general physical and environmental conditions;
        (2) services and programs to be provided to confined persons;and
        (3) procedures for the care and control of confined persons thatare necessary to ensure the health and safety of confinedpersons, the security of the jail, and public safety.
However, the department may not adopt any standard that prohibitsthe placement of more than one (1) prisoner in a prisoner cell thathas thirty-five (35) square feet or more of floor space per prisoner.
    (b) The standards must be sufficiently flexible to foster thedevelopment of new and improved practices and to accommodatelocal needs and circumstances. The standards must be consistent withthe laws of Indiana and the rules of the state department of healthand the fire prevention and building safety commission.
    (c) The commissioner shall select a committee of not less thanfive (5) county sheriffs to consult with the department before andduring the drafting of the proposed minimum standards. Countysheriffs shall be selected from the various classes of counties toensure that densely, moderately, and sparsely populated counties arerepresented. Each county sheriff is entitled to the minimum salaryper diem as provided in IC 4-10-11-2.1 for each day engaged in theofficial business of the committee and to reimbursement for travelingand other expenses, as provided in the state travel policies andprocedures established by the Indiana department of administrationand approved by the budget agency.
    (d) At least sixty (60) days before setting the date for a publichearing under IC 4-22-2, the department shall forward copies of theproposed minimum standards to each county sheriff and each boardof county commissioners and shall solicit their views andsuggestions.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.152-1983,SEC.1; P.L.8-1984, SEC.15; P.L.245-1987, SEC.9; P.L.2-1992,SEC.114.

IC 11-12-4-2
Inspection of county jails; notice of noncompliance with standards;petition for injunction; recommendation to convene grand jury;action by sheriff
    Sec. 2. (a) The department shall inspect each county jail at leastone (1) time each year to determine whether it is complying with thestandards adopted under section 1 of this chapter. If the department

determines that a jail is not complying with the standards, thecommissioner shall give written notice of this determination to thecounty sheriff, the board of county commissioners, the prosecutingattorney, the circuit court, and all courts having criminal or juvenilejurisdiction in that county. This notice must specify which standardsare not being met and state the commissioner's recommendationsregarding compliance.
    (b) If after six (6) months from the date of the written notice thedepartment determines that the county is not making a good faitheffort toward compliance with the standards specified in the notice,the commissioner may:
        (1) petition the circuit court for an injunction prohibiting theconfinement of persons in all or any part of the jail, orotherwise restricting the use of the jail; or
        (2) recommend, in writing, to the prosecuting attorney and eachcourt with criminal or juvenile jurisdiction that a grand jury beconvened to tour and examine the county jail underIC 35-34-2-11.
    (c) Upon receipt of notice by the commissioner that the jail doesnot comply with standards adopted under section 1 of this chapter,the sheriff may bring an action in the circuit court against the boardof county commissioners or county council for appropriatemandatory or injunctive relief.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.5-2002,SEC.1.

IC 11-12-4-3
Rules for maintenance of order and discipline in county jail;requirements; disciplinary action
    Sec. 3. The county sheriff shall adopt rules for the maintenance oforder and discipline among persons committed to the county jail.These rules must describe the conduct for which disciplinary actionmay be imposed, the type of disciplinary action that may be taken,and the disciplinary procedure to be followed. The rules and possibledisciplinary action must be made available to all persons committedto the county jail. The disciplinary action imposed must beproportionate to the seriousness of the violation.
As added by Acts 1979, P.L.120, SEC.5.

IC 11-12-4-4
Jail officer; necessity; training
    Sec. 4. (a) As used in this section, "jail officer" means a personwhose duties include the daily or ongoing supervision of county jailinmates.
    (b) A person may be confined in the county jail only if there is ajail officer stationed in the jail.
    (c) A jail officer whose employment begins after December 31,1985, shall complete the training required by this section during thefirst year of employment. This subsection does not apply to a jailofficer who:        (1) has successfully completed minimum basic trainingrequirements (other than training completed underIC 5-2-1-9(h)) for law enforcement officers established by thelaw enforcement training board; or
        (2) is a law enforcement officer and is exempt from the trainingrequirements of IC 5-2-1. For purposes of this subdivision,completion of the training requirements of IC 5-2-1-9(h) doesnot exempt an officer from the minimum basic trainingrequirements of IC 5-2-1.
    (d) The law enforcement training board shall develop a forty (40)hour program for the specialized training of jail officers. Theprogram training must include six (6) hours of training in interactingwith persons with mental illness, addictive disorders, mentalretardation, and developmental disabilities, to be provided by personsapproved by the secretary of family and social services and the lawenforcement training board. The remainder of the training shall beprovided by the board.
    (e) The board shall certify each person who successfullycompletes such a training program.
    (f) The department shall pay the cost of training each jail officer.
As added by P.L.153-1983, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.129-1985,SEC.1; P.L.30-1992, SEC.5; P.L.85-2004, SEC.43.

IC 11-12-4-5
Construction; final plans and specifications; review
    Sec. 5. In addition to the approval required from the agencieslisted under IC 36-1-12-10, all final plans and specifications for theconstruction of a county jail are subject to review by the department.Before construction may begin on a county jail, the board of countycommissioners shall submit the plans and specifications to thedepartment.
As added by P.L.130-1985, SEC.1.

IC 11-12-4-6
Plans and specifications; review for minimum standards
    Sec. 6. The department shall review plans and specificationssubmitted by a county under section 5 of this chapter to determinewhether the new jail will meet the minimum standards adopted bythe department under section 1 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.130-1985, SEC.2.

IC 11-12-4-7
Report to division of fire and building safety and countycommissioners; contents
    Sec. 7. After conducting the review required by section 6 of thischapter, the department shall send a copy of the department's reportto the division of fire and building safety and make a public report tothe board of county commissioners. In the report, the departmentshall evaluate whether the jail, if constructed according to the plansand specifications submitted to the department, meets the minimum

standards adopted by the department under section 1 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.130-1985, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.1-2006,SEC.182.

IC 11-12-4-8
Application of section; issuance of design release
    Sec. 8. (a) This section does not apply to the approval of the plansand specifications for a county jail under IC 22-15-3 if thedepartment has failed to submit its report under section 7 of thischapter to the division of fire and building safety within ten (10)regular working days of the date that the department received theplans and specifications from the board of county commissioners.
    (b) The division of fire and building safety may not issue a designrelease for a county jail under IC 22-15-3 until the division of fireand building safety receives the report of the department for thatcounty jail under section 7 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.130-1985, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.245-1987,SEC.10; P.L.1-2006, SEC.183.