County jail at capacity most of last year

St. Joseph County Undersheriff Mark Lillywhite said the county jail was either at or above capacity for most of 2018.

During Wednesday’s executive committee meeting, Lillywhite provided details from the agency’s annual report. He told county commissioners that the jail averaged 172 inmates a month for a minimum stay of one day or more last year.

Lillywhite said the jail took in more than 800 women last year, a figure that he said was considerably higher than in past years.

During the course of his half-hour presentation, Lillywhite covered crime and traffic statistics, and other components of the sheriff’s department, including marine patrol, Victim Services, animal shelter, financial information and meals from the jail’s kitchen.

Regarding drug activity, Lillywhite said methamphetamine is still the drug of choice among users in St. Joseph County.