Good Question: Why are some inmates held in other counties?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Last week, authorities say Aries Ash attacked a jail deputy in Livingston County, where he was being held on charges for an upcoming trial in neighboring Monroe County. That’s for the 2019 murder of a Rochester man.

A viewer named John sent News10NBC’s Brennan Somers this Good Question about it: "Last I heard, the Monroe County Correctional Facility on East Henrietta Road is not currently occupied. If correct, why is Monroe County placing prisoners in the Livingston County Jail instead of using the MCCF?"

For starters, Monroe County deputies do send some inmates to other jails depending on needs for security and medical reasons. The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office told Somers they may also take in outside inmates to keep them from another co-defendant in a pending case, or to split them up from a family member who works in a detention center.

This common practice is a two-way deal: people charged with crimes outside Monroe County are sometimes brought to the jail in downtown Rochester. Certain smaller jails may not have nursing staff on hand 24/7 but Monroe County does. Inmates who need a higher level of medical care are sent here.

As for the old Monroe County Correctional Facility in Brighton, it’s now known as the Andrew P. Meloni: STAR Academy. Deputies told Somers that the complex is always on standby to house inmates if needed. It may be used soon to help handle the current COVID outbreak downtown at that jail.

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