Tippecanoe County looks at expanding its jail

But that capacity may increase. The county Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a $24,000 feasibility study that will explore if and how the jail can expand.

"Our inmate population is ever increasing and reaching capacity," said Sheriff Barry Richard. 

The jail is not overcrowded, yet. It's at just below 85 percent of its capacity, far from the horror stories of other jails that are nearly 300 percent over capacity. But the Indiana Department of Correction considers a jail full when it reaches 80 percent capacity because of the needs to properly classify and assign inmates.

Furthermore, the opioid crisis has put an increasing strain on the jail that was built in 1989 and last renovated in 2003. The jail has expanded by another 50 inmates since 2003, but not at a pace that matches the increase in population.