CARLTON, Minnesota (Northern News Now) – Carlton County has opened its new Justice Center, a one-stop shop for all criminal justice functions.
The $75 million facility provides access to courts, attorneys and the sheriff’s office – all under one roof. That milestone was marked with a grand opening on Thursday.
Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake said the old building, built in the 1970s, was so compact that defendants, witnesses and victims regularly encountered one another, but the new facility will prevent that.
“There are levels of separation to prevent this from happening and more safety precautions for staff, the public and visitors,” Lake said.
The ground floor houses law enforcement, the jail, prison administration, and probation. The second floor houses the public defender’s office, courtrooms, court administration, and the district attorney’s office.
“It also allows us to serve the public, who are ultimately the funders of this building, as well as the people of this building,” said Paul Coughlin, Carlton County Jail administrator.
Coughlin said they learned as they went and collected data to know exactly what to focus their building features on.
“Information about arrests and who the inmates were when they entered and exited the building, and ultimately what the building had to do when people entered the justice system,” Coughlin said.
They identified several needs, including three courtrooms and a total of 96 beds, 40 beds for men and 40 for women, as well as 16 beds specifically for elderly or mentally challenged women in the region.
Officials said the road to this point has been long, but seeing it all come together is worth the effort.
“The fact that all of this is coming to fruition and that we can look at and complete this facility is because we know that it will meet the public safety needs of the county for many decades to come,” Lake said.
The new Justice Center for law enforcement and court services will officially open on September 16, with the jail and operations area opening shortly thereafter.
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