Law Enforcement Center
Address: 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud MN 56303
On May 30, 1986, the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) was officially opened, providing facilities for the Stearns County Sheriff, the Stearns County Jail, and the St. Cloud Police Department*. Development and planning of the LEC required one year; with ground-breaking ceremonies taking place on April 25, 1985.
The main floor of the facility houses the law enforcement headquarters for both the City of St. Cloud and Stearns County. All Sheriff's personnel offices are located on this floor. Interview rooms, meeting rooms, evidence storage, and a garage located on the north half of the building can be also be found at this level.
The second and third floors occupy the correctional facility, which replaced the Stearns County Jail building that had been in use since 1921. Learn more about the history of the Stearns County Jail.
There are a total of 115 beds in the secure area (some double bunked), not including holding cells in the prisoner intake area and one padded cell. The County Jail is allowed to hold a prisoner for up to one year on any one charge if they are sentenced. If they are on pre-trial status they may be held indefinitely on bail. This facility offers an improved means of controlling inmates, which is crucial to the reduction in recidivism.
An addition to house Huber inmates added an additional 60 beds. The goal with the addition was to reduce contraband smuggling and to increase available space in the jail for higher security prisoners, some of which are currently housed for a fee in other jurisdictions.
The basement of the LEC contains one of the most important benefits to citizens--the Emergency Operations Center. This center enhances the ability to gather, process, and communicate emergency information. An important part of the center is its 911 answering service which routes all emergency calls to radio paging, and in turn alerts all emergency vehicles so the proper help can be dispensed.
* The St. Cloud Police Department moved in late 2009 to its own facility three blocks west of the LEC.
Law Enforcement Center Facts
- The Administration Center now stands on the site of the old jail.
- The tunnel from the Courthouse to the Administration Center is the same one that ran from the Courthouse to the old jail.
- The LEC required more than 1,200 truckloads of ready-mix concrete.
- 60 semi loads of reinforcing steel were used to support the weight of the concrete and to provide additional strength.
- More than 5-1/2 miles of pipe, 40 miles of conduit for electrical and security systems, and air conditioning duct work equivalent to 185 new homes lay throughout the building.
- The three boilers used to heat the facility could supply heat to 125 average-size homes and a 1000 kilowatt emergency generator has a comparative capacity to providing normal electricity to 1000 homes.