It was an area of the jail designed to hold 64 women but inside it was more than 80 Monday when Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch toured the Vanderburgh County Jail.
That total doesn't include the one guard stationed in the area patrolling the floor as the women enjoyed recreation time.
And it doesn't include the other women the county holds in a different area of the jail on "boats," plastic cots that lay on the floor.
It was sobering, Crouch said.
"I was just struck, as a mother, that there are people's children. The population looked to be rather young. It just touched my heart that we have troubled young women that are here. We need to be sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure that they have an opportunity to be successful and rehabilitated," Crouch said.
She is familiar with the jail. Crouch was Vanderburgh County Auditor during its construction and development. Now, more than a decade later with her as second in command of the Indiana executive, the jail is consistently overcrowded.
Inmate population Monday morning was 730. It's listed maximum capacity is 540. On Monday, 135 women were lodged at the jail.
The average female age Monday was 34. But 40 percent of women held at the jail are under the age of 30. The youngest inmate is 20 and the oldest 62.
Crouch was invited to tour the jail by Vanderburgh County Jail Sheriff Dave Wedding. The two talked about several issues contributing to jail population levels, including state legislation that put pressure on local jails and a lack of community resources for severely mentally ill people.
Wedding has been an aggressive advocate for addressing overcrowding and understaffing issues at the jail in recent years.
Vanderburgh County isn't alone.
A legislative committee is reviewing solutions to jail overcrowding, which affects an estimated 44 county jails of the 91 in the state.