In Indiana, a “safekeeper charge” isn’t actually a criminal charge. Safekeeper is an administrative and judicial designation under Indiana Code 35-33-11 that moves a county jail inmate into a Department of Correction (DOC) facility, or into a different county’s jail, when safety concerns or overcrowding make the current jail unworkable. The person keeps whatever underlying charges or sentence they already had. What changes is where they are held and who is responsible for them.
What the Designation Actually Changes
A safekeeper is still legally in the custody of the original county, even though they are physically housed somewhere else. The receiving facility, whether that’s a DOC prison or another county jail, is holding the inmate on the sending county’s behalf.
That legal fiction has real consequences. The sending county stays financially responsible for housing and medical care. The DOC sends the county sheriff monthly reports covering the inmate’s behavior, adjustment, medical condition, visits, and the costs being billed that month. And because the original court can still order the inmate to appear, DOC classification must keep the safekeeper available to that court.
Why Someone Gets Designated a Safekeeper
Indiana law recognizes two separate paths, and they don’t work the same way.
Safety Grounds
Under IC 35-33-11-1, a transfer can be requested when an inmate is a serious escape risk, is violent or aggressive in a way that substantially threatens themselves, other inmates, or staff, or needs protection from another inmate and faces imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-1 – Emergency Transfer of Certain County Jail Inmates The sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, the inmate, or the inmate’s attorney can file the request. Safety-based transfers reach any county jail inmate, including people who are still awaiting trial.
One boundary matters here: an inmate cannot be moved under this chapter because of mental illness or a medical condition that requires health care services. Those situations are handled through separate statutes.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-1 – Emergency Transfer of Certain County Jail Inmates
Overcrowding or Inadequate Facilities
The second path is filed by the sheriff, who has to show both that the jail cannot properly house its inmates and that another sheriff or the DOC commissioner has agreed to take some. Only inmates already serving a sentence can be moved under this path, unless the overcrowding is severe enough to also require moving pretrial inmates.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-3 – Overcrowding or Inadequacy of Local Penal Facility
How the Transfer Gets Ordered
A safety-based transfer moves through several steps. The requester submits a written request to the receiving sheriff or the DOC commissioner explaining which qualifying circumstance applies. That receiving authority has 48 hours to approve or deny. A denial has to come with a written justification.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-1 – Emergency Transfer of Certain County Jail Inmates
If the request is approved, the requester then files a petition with the court, attaching the approved written request. If it’s denied, they can still petition, but they must include the denial, its justification, and an explanation of why the transfer is needed anyway.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-1 – Emergency Transfer of Certain County Jail Inmates
Before ordering the transfer, the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the qualifying conditions exist. That’s a real evidentiary standard, not a formality.
Where a Safekeeper Is Housed
Safekeepers are not treated the same as people committed to the DOC through sentencing. DOC policy places safekeepers in the least secure facility they properly qualify for, with security and custody set high enough to keep the inmate available for court. They are generally kept in DOC-operated facilities rather than contract facilities. Day-to-day life follows the same rules that apply to sentenced individuals in that facility.
Programs, Work, and Discipline
What a safekeeper can do inside depends on their case status. A safekeeper who is already serving a sentence can be assigned to any program or work available to other DOC inmates on the same terms.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-8 – Assignment of Prisoners Serving Sentence to Program or Work A safekeeper who is awaiting trial has narrower options and may only work or participate in programs consistent with the security requirements of the facility.
Discipline of pretrial safekeepers is handled by the DOC or receiving sheriff under the same authority used for other inmates, as provided in IC 35-50.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-10 – Discipline of Prisoners Awaiting Trial
Who Pays
The sending county pays. Under IC 35-33-11-5, the transferring county owes a per diem equal to the average daily cost of housing an inmate at the receiving facility, plus any additional costs reasonably necessary to maintain the inmate’s health and welfare, which includes medical expenses.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-5 – Transportation to and From Facilities; Payment of Costs by County The receiving facility bills the county monthly.
Transportation is also on the sending county. The sheriff of the sending county moves the inmate to the receiving facility and back, and can request help from other law enforcement agencies if the sheriff cannot adequately protect the inmate during transport.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-5 – Transportation to and From Facilities; Payment of Costs by County
Getting the Inmate Moved Back
A safekeeper designation is not permanent. At any point after the transfer order, the sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, the inmate, the inmate’s attorney, or the DOC itself can file a motion asking the court to review whether the conditions that justified the transfer still exist. The court must hold a hearing and then confirm or terminate the placement.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-2 – Judicial Review of an Order Transferring an Inmate
Even without a motion from anyone, if the court determines on its own that the circumstances that required the transfer no longer exist, it must order the sheriff to return the inmate to the original county jail.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-11-2 – Judicial Review of an Order Transferring an Inmate The statute says “shall.” It’s not discretionary.
For families trying to get someone moved back closer to home, their attorney, and their pending case, the review motion is the mechanism. If the original threat has passed or the jail has room again, that filing is what starts the return.