Macomb County Jail to Undergo Feasibility and Needs Study
The County Sheriff hopes to generate long-term solutions to the jail’s overcrowding issues.
The Macomb County Sheriff is planning a year-long study to determine how best to improve the county jail. Sheriff Anthony Wickersham says he wants to hire consultants to delve into county courts’ sentencing procedures, incarceration alternatives and the jail’s overcrowding. He says the study will help the county make an educated decision about the future of the facility.
“We’re having emergency overcrowding. Hopefully, funding and the economy may be turning around, and we do our homework, and we do it right, then we come with options and we engage, not only the key stakeholders, but we have to engage the community. You know, we have to educate them on what we have and what our capabilities are.”
Wickersham says similar research took place in 2005, but the county did not have enough funding to act on the resulting recommendations. He says the new study is set to begin early next month.
