Ripley Co. Sheriff Investigated 581 Cases in 2011

(Versailles, Ind.) - The Ripley County Sheriff’s Office had a busy 2011.

A yearly summary from Sheriff Tom Grills says the department investigated 581 criminal cases last year, with more than half of those being closed or resulting in an arrest.

The three most common charges were theft, burglary, and criminal mischief. A breakdown showed 80 cases were alcohol related offenses, 33 were drug related, 108 were misdemeanor or felony traffic offenses, 92 were domestic, and 433 were crimes against persons or property.

Deputies investigated 397 motor vehicle crashes, down 23 from 2010. Eighty-one of the accidents resulted in injuries to 113 people. Two fatal wrecks claimed two lives.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common primary cause of a crash in Ripley County was an animal or object in the roadway – usually deer.

Over 800 inmates went through the Ripley County Jail. An average of 74.8 inmates were incarcerated on a daily basis.

Programs like house arrest and sheriffs sales helped the office generate $511,401 in revenue to be put into the county’s general fund.

Inmate housing in 2011 produced $271,040 in revenue.  The cost of meals made $31,708, an average of $1.40 per meal.

Sheriff’s sales brought in $3,400. A civil process defray the pension generated $10,189. Another $226,772 was made in miscellaneous forms such as prisoner transports, inmate medical, out of county housing, social security, and more.

The Home Incarceration and Work Release programs generated $52,322, which is used to supplement the sheriff’s office and jail budgets for expenses like office equipment, vehicles, and officer training.