Jefferson County Jail Looking to Expand

 Print This Page

In March, a study of the Metro-Jefferson County Public Safety Jail was completed and the results suggested that expansion was needed to accomodate more criminals.

The independent study concluded the jail will possibly have to have 191 beds to handle all prisoners by 2030.

At the time, Sheriff John Burns warned county officials that the jail needs to grow with the population and that overcrowding was a danger to both the prisoners and staff at the facility.

“The way our area is expanding, I think it’s probably going to be too small in probably less than ten years,” Sheriff Burns said.

County lawmakers agree and that has them considering an expansion to the facility happening sooner than ten years down the line.

Officials say that 32 beds would be added to the jail which currently has 161 beds inside, bringing the total to 193.

Adding more beds means that a new section of the building would have to be constructed, but the design of the addition is still being worked out.

One suggestion is to have a 32 bed dormitory section built for non-violent offenders with infrastructure in place for further expansion options.

Legislation is being drafted for the Jefferson County Board of Legislators to review this fall.

Watch our report:

Comments

The 5 Day Forecast

World & National Video