The Warren County Justice Center opens to the public for the first time today, with county departments including the Warren County Attorney and Warren County Sheriff’s Office gradually moving into the building that will also house the jail and Warren County District Court. Sheriff Joe Carico tells KNIA News with the consolidation of the departments into the building, it will cut costs and improve safety for deputies and the county.

“Anytime you are transporting 6-8 inmates in a van 40-50 miles, you have a chance of having a wreck, you have a chance of something going wrong. Paying for the maintenance on the vehicles to keep them running. If a van goes down, we can’t afford to have it down for more than a day so we are immediately paying to get that fixed, and if it’s a weekend we are paying a higher rate typically unless we can get another vehicle. Now, it’s 50 feet across the hallway. We are not paying all the other costs incurred for transporting, we are not running the risk of the inmates leaving a controlled facility. From the jail cell to the courtroom, it’s all within a controlled area of the Sheriff’s Office now.”

For more information, tune in to today’s Let’s Talk Indianola.