No room in the Bannock County Jail

It’s a chronic problem for the Bannock County Jail, too many inmates and not enough room.

Today, Bannock County leaders met to talk about possible solutions. The floor was opened for members to express their concerns on jail overcrowding.

The opinions shared on the subject did not fall on deaf ears.

Howard Manwaring chairman of the county commission, said its become a significant issue. Even if the jail is full they have to house the inmates.

“In the long term, in the long term we’re looking into the possibility of a bond election to add on to the jail. In the short term we have to look at some other alternatives. Such as enhancing our inmate labor detail program,” said Manwaring.

The Sheriff’s and Commissioners Labor Detail Program is one option, but inmates are not following through.

“When they sign up for the program, when they’re sentenced and they say, ‘Yes I will be on the program,’ and then they should be on the program and they shouldn’t be able to determine whether they want to go or they don’t,” said Manwaring.

The jail was last modified in 1994, which could only house 253 inmates.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said, “An add on and renovations to the facility is what they are looking at.”

“It’s probably going to have to be a bond due to the fact that we have a justice capped and we can only raise that 3 percent, but if we don’t do something we might have to have a judge order it done,” said Nielsen.

The sheriff will be proposing a budget for renovations in the upcoming weeks.

It would be up to the county commission to vote whether to put the proposed bond on the ballot.