ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Sheriffs Association wants state Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell to resign or be thrown out. The sheriffs made the call in a resolution at their annual meeting. Their complaint is vague. The resolution refers to “ongoing issues” between local law enforcement and the Department of Corrections. It talks about “arbitrary and capricious decisions” that have created “hardships” for incarcerated individuals, the legal community and law enforcement. Other language refers to a “lack of follow-through, empty promises and misinformation.” The sheriffs claim that they have done their best to work with Schnell but his response has been “heavy-handed” with “draconian sanctions” to impose personal whims and preferences of on how to run jails. Although not cited, the most visible tension with Schnell involved his 2024 order to Hennepin County to release inmates to relieve crowded and unacceptable jail conditions. It was a power play invoking the state certification requirements for county jails.There also have been capacity ceilings imposed on jails in Bemidji and Fergus Falls, requiring inmates to be moved to certified jails elsewhere. Historically the county sheriffs have welcomed such pressure. It was such pressure, for example, that the forced Winona County Boardt o put a tax increase on the ballot for a new $28 million jail that opened in 2023.
Earlier: Sheriffs’ Group Sides Against Jail Reform Order
Schnell. Major change under his leadership: Closing the stone fortress St. Cloud state orison, built ub1887, and relocating inmates.
Schnell profile
Paul Schnell was appointed to lead he state Corrections Department in by Governor Tim Walz in 2018. He holds a 1988 degree in social work from St. Thomas. Out of college he worked at halfway houses with pre-trial and post-release offenders. At one point he worked for the Watchguard company’s electronic monitoring program. He entered law enforcement in the Minneapolis suburb of Chaska as a Carver County youth corrections officer. 1999Schnelle went to St. Paul as aa patrol officer, an investigator on family and sexual violence, a and later public information officer. Meanwhile he earned n advanced degree in organizational leadership from St. Catherine University. More recently he ha s been police chief in Maplewood, Inver Grove Heights and Hastings. Salary as state corrections commisioner: $160,000. He is 64.