Monroe County Jail considers expansion as inmate population exceeds capacity

The proposal would add beds, holding cells and dedicated space for inmates with mental health needs.

FORSYTH, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Overcrowding continues to be a concern at the Monroe County Jail, according to jail leaders.

Monroe County Jail Lieutenant Thomas Haskins says the issue has been ongoing for at least the past two years.

The facility requires every inmate to have a bed. When the jail exceeds capacity, inmates are sent to other facilities, which increases costs.

“When we do have a surplus number of individuals in custody, we have to house those inmates out to other jails, which cost us $30 per person per day per inmate,” Haskins said.

The jail is built to hold about 175 inmates, but Haskins says they are regularly housing more than 190.

To help address the issue, officials are working on a plan to expand the jail.

“What we want to do, we want to extend our current rec yard and build a new cell block which will allow us to have more beds in the facility, and then adding on a surplus number of holding cells and dedicated mental health cells,” he said.

He says the expansion would also help address a growing need for mental health space.

“We have a surplus number of individuals who have mental health issues,” he said. “Currently we only have three holding cells we can place these inmates in.”

Officials say the project is still in the early stages, but they hope to begin moving forward within the next year or two.