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Hennepin County has reduced the population of its adult jail and is now in compliance with an order from the state's Department of Corrections. 

The state ordered the jail to reduce the number of inmates to under 600 people by Thursday. According to the county, the population was

The state corrections department issued the order in early November, when the county jail population reached more than 850. The state said the county was failing to meet minimum staffing requirements, creating conditions that pose an “imminent risk of life-threatening harm or serious physical injury” to inmates.

Earlier this week, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a request from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office for more than $5 million to board inmates in other county jails. A vote on the funding was delayed last month, when 

commissioners showed little interest in supporting

The Hennepin County Attorney Community Relations Board, a community board aiming to advance criminal justice reforms, said in a press release that moving people to other county jails “is not a meaningful solution to the problem Hennepin County is required to solve.”

“The approval of $5.4 million to relocate people throughout seven counties is a dangerous strategy disguised as accountability,” the community board said. “There are other solutions to reduce the number of people in jail.”

The board urged the county sheriff’s office and county attorney’s office to find long-term solutions focused on releasing inmates and providing public services.

Minnesota DOC orders Hennepin County to reduce jail population after finding staff negligence

Hennepin County commissioners delay vote on proposal to reduce jail population

Minnesota Department of Corrections report

, the county’s jails at Minneapolis City Hall and a newer Public Safety Facility in downtown Minneapolis were found to be in violation of rules on routine wellness checks and minimum staffing levels.

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State regulators ordered the reduction after finding that the facility had failed to meet minimum staffing requirements, creating conditions that pose an “imminent risk of life-threatening harm or serious physical injury” to inmates.

Hennepin County Public Safety Facility in Minneapolis

Hennepin County jails meet state deadline to reduce inmate population

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