FARMINGTON — Franklin County detectives and deputies need a place to interview people, such as sexual assault victims, that maintains confidentiality and complies with state law, Chief Deputy Ray Meldrum told commissioners on Tuesday.

Meldrum asked the commissioners if it would be possible, when the District Attorney’s Office staff moves out of the basement of the courthouse, for the Sheriff’s Department to set up an interview room down there.

County Clerk Julie Magoon said that state fire inspectors are requiring that a partition in the basement be removed. The partition is makeshift and does not go all the way to the ceiling.

Register of Deeds Sue Black said she would like to put the employee break room that is her office area down in the basement and expand deeds into the break room space. She also needs more storage. She also said she understands the need to share the space.

Tim Hardy, director of the county Emergency Management Agency, who also has space in the basement, said that they originally talked about moving the EMA office to the front DA’s Office, once it is vacant.

But in his opinion, detectives need space to conduct confidential interviews and the space may be better off set up as an interview room.

Detective Tom White said the Sheriff’s Department has run out of room and there is no place to interview. An interview room should not be too big and would need to be set up for video-taping and have an exit so that someone being interviewed is able to leave when they want.

The Department has been out of compliance since 2005, White said.

Other ideas for Sheriff’s Department space discussed include courthouse rooms downstairs, space in the jail and possibly space in the building the District Attorney’s Office plans to lease nearby.

“It is really critical that Dave finds some private space,” White said of Detective David St. Laurent, the county’s investigator of sexual assaults and child-abuse cases.

White said they are just looking for a little bit of space to do their duties.

Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay suggested that all the parties seeking space work together to find an interview room. Commissioners tabled action on the request until a plan is brought forward.

Over at the Sheriff’s Department, after that portion of the meeting, an officer was conducting an interview with someone in the front lobby between the dispatch center and administrative offices because there was no other space available for an interview.

dperry@sunjournal.com