MADISON, Ind. (WDRB) -- The jail in Jefferson County, Indiana, has a serious overcrowding issue, and county leaders say building a new jail is the solution to the problem.
The jail is so far over capacity that Jefferson County Sheriff John Wallace is running out of space to house the inmates.
"It's a concern for the safety and security of the inmates and the officers as well," Wallace said.
The Jefferson County Jail holds 108 inmates but sees 150 to 170 inmates at any given time.
"Ninety percent of our inmates are here either on narcotics-related charges or narcotics directly,” Wallace said. “It's had just a massive impact on our jail facility."
The inmates are sleeping on cots, in stacked bunks, in temporary cells and in rec rooms. Since the jail is in downtown Madison, there's no room to expand. County leaders say the only solution is to build new.
"It's something that no one wants to do, but it's something that's going to be necessary to do to sustain the inmate population that we have here,” Wallace said.
A new jail would cost about $23 million and would likely be built on county-owned land. Wallace is aiming to build it using pods to house 250 inmates.
The Indiana state legislature recently voted to allow counties to increase the income tax rate specifically for jail funding. The county has not voted to add a tax increase just yet.
"This .02 percent would only be able to be used for a jail facility, and so it wouldn't be divided among the towns or cities,” said Dave Bremer, a Jefferson County Commissioner who sits on the county’s jail committee.
Bremer said this is a safety issue that can be solved by building a new facility. He said the jail committee is working out the final details and putting together a solid plan before it heads to a vote for approval. Bremer said he wants the plan to be complete before sharing it with the public.
Wallace agrees.
"We want to take our time,” Wallace said. “We want to do it right and make sure that the facility that we build now will be there well down the road."
If the project is approved, Wallace said a new jail could be operational within two-and-a-half years.
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