PRINCETON — The county has been cited in the past two years of jail inspections for overcrowding and understaffing, and despite efforts to ease some of the problems, the jail population is growing.
Gibson County Board of Commissioners President Steve Bottoms Tuesday renewed a request to the county's fiscal body, the Gibson County Council, to allocate funding for more corrections officers.
Sheriff Tim Bottoms said the jail census has grown, with 157 jail and 43 work release inmates incarcerated Tuesday.
The jail's rated capacity is 120 inmates, and Bottoms said the Indiana Department of Corrections inspections of the facility recommend no more than 96 inmates.
Even at a 96-inmate capacity, the DOC report recommends that the county have six more jailers than are currently on staff. Bottoms noted that the council budgeted for additional jailers, but not the full amount recommended by DOC.
The sheriff said the jail census was at 161 inmates Saturday night, and has been as high as 190 inmates. It becomes a definite safety issue when two second-shift jailers are responsible for a jail population of 157 inmates, he told commissioners.
Commissioners have contracted for a jail study and the county has addressed some lighting issues. "We can't build a new jail tomorrow," said Steve Bottoms. "But we can hire more jailers."
"It's an ongoing problem," acknowledged commissioner Mary Key.