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Last updated on Tuesday, June 11, 2013
(JOHNSON CO.) - Overcrowding at the Johnson County Jail has become a pressing issue.
The jail has housed more than its maximum capacity since April 1 - and up until April, has only been done a few times in the past two years,The Daily Journal reports.
Officials say the inmate population will most likely increase as more people tend to get arrested during the summer months.
Sheriff Doug Cox says one reason for the overcrowding is that offenders are sentenced to work release programs instead of state prisons.
Prisoners cannot be turned away even if they are at maximum capacity.
Cox says he is trying to add more beds to house the extra inmates although he believes an expansion to the jail is needed.
Voters turned down a 2010 proposal for a $23 million, 400-bed addition to the jail. A proposed project that may cost more than $12 million will have to go back for the voters' approval. Cox says he doesn't know how much an expansion would cost.
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