Michigan county bans street shout-outs to inmates

Talking via open jail window security risk, Van Buren police say

James Prichard / Associated Press

Paw Paw -- Inmates at the Van Buren County Jail haven't always used its pay phone or visiting hours to speak with friends and family.

Sometimes they just wait for a shout-out.

A century-old section of the jail in the heart of Paw Paw has no air conditioning, so its barred windows are opened in warm weather. The wing stands only a few feet from the sidewalk, separated from it by a tall chain-link fence crowned by spirals of razor wire.

The open windows serve as an open invitation for some people to stand outside and yell for -- and sometimes hold entire conversations with -- their loved ones inside.

"It's caused a problem for us for a long time," said Sheriff's Lt. Bob Kirk.

Concerned mostly about potential security risks, Sheriff Dale Gribler asked county commissioners to make such unsupervised communication efforts, verbal or otherwise, illegal by those on the outside.

The commissioners adopted an ordinance in September to make it a misdemeanor carrying a jail term of up to 90 days and a maximum fine of $500. It takes effect in early December, when the windows generally remain closed. Warning signs will be posted outside.

The shouting happens mostly during the summer months at the jail, which holds up to 158 inmates, including about 50 in the old section. Deputies can go for a couple of weeks without any problems, then become aware of two or three incidents in a single day, Kirk said.

"It happens at all times, anytime," he said. "There's no specific time. We do visitation on weekends and it probably is more of a problem during that time frame than it is any other time during the week, but it does happen throughout the week."

County Administrator Douglas Cultra said Gribler and his deputies felt that the ordinance would help them to enforce appropriate behavior outside the jail, which is about 145 miles west of Detroit. Inmates caught communicating through the windows already are disciplined under jail rules and won't be punished under the ordinance.

"There wasn't any other law that could come into play," said Commissioner Thomas Erdmann, who lives in South Haven. "It wasn't exactly a noise violation or that sort of thing."

Van Buren County Circuit Judge William C. Buhl hasn't been interrupted while in his courtroom, but said, "I have observed -- a number of times -- people walking around the jail on the grass, yelling up at the inmates."

Illicit chitchat isn't the only problem posed by the jail's location, Kirk said. Deputies recently had to shoo away a young woman standing across the street from the jail who was trying to get the attention of her incarcerated boyfriend by holding up cardboard signs with affectionate messages.