Inmates sleeping in booking area due to overcrowding at Bannock County jail

POCATELLO — The Bannock County Detention Center in Pocatello is currently so overcrowded that some prisoners sleep on mattresses on the floor of the booking area.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen says the jail has far surpassed its 264-person capacity. They’re renting beds in other counties for about 30 inmates, and they have another 30 or so who they’re still trying to find a cell for.

“We’re becoming fairly desperate,” Nielsen said.

Although his office has called Power, Bonneville, Caribou, Jefferson and Madison counties looking for a place to house more inmates, they haven’t been able to find accommodations. That’s because other jails in eastern Idaho are at or nearing capacity, too.

Bingham County Sheriff Craig T. Rowland said they can house 101 inmates at his jail, but they already have 106 there.

Madison County currently has 85 inmates, but only about 34 of those people are actually facing charges in that area. The vast majority are being housed there for other agencies, said Sgt. Jared Willmore of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

Although Madison can accommodate about 15 more people, Willmore said they don’t want to fill those beds in case they need them.

While there is a limit on the number of beds available at jails in East Idaho, there is no ceiling on the number of inmates.

“We don’t have the option of putting up a no-vacancy sign,” Nielsen said. “If they bring them in, I have to accept them. The county is responsible for having a jail.”

Still, when he and other sheriffs have to send inmates to surrounding counties, it jams up the whole correctional system in East Idaho, Nielsen said. He now has to check with state facilities and jails in counties outside of the region to see if they can accommodate any more inmates.

Nielsen said his staff is also talking to judges to see if any of the inmates can be released on their own recognizance. But there’s not a lot they can do since many were arrested on warrants for not showing up for their court hearings and some are there for violating their probation. Many face felony charges — not misdemeanors — as well.

Bingham County is running up against similar issues.

“We are working with the judges to lower bonds on people who are in jail for misdemeanor charges,” Rowland said. “Right now almost all the population of the jail is in for felony charges.”

Both Bannock and Bingham counties have been looking at the possibility of expanding their facilities. Bannock County asked for an $18 million bond last year to add another 250 beds and make about $3 million in repairs, but the measure did not get the required supermajority approval from voters. Nielsen said they are modifying their plans and will likely ask for another bond in the future.

Rowland said Bingham County is also working on trying to get a new wing for the jail, but that’s a long-term solution.

The same goes for Bannock County.

In the short term, Nielsen said they’ve filled the holding cells in the secured booking area and placed 20 or more mattresses on the floor, but that creates liability and security concerns.

“It’s an extreme security risk for the officers in booking,” he said, adding that he’s authorized patrol to be able to send in additional officers to help.

Knowing that overcrowding would be an issue, the county budgeted $150,000 to pay other agencies to house inmates, but Nielsen expects to quickly exhaust those funds if current trends continue. And those funds will only help if they can find other agencies with space to house prisoners that Bannock County cannot.

“The stress on the whole system is becoming acute,” Nielsen said. “We’re hoping to get a break and get caught up, but with summer coming, I don’t see that as a real possibility.”

This article was originally published in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.