NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More arrests overcrowding and now a major issue that will cost Davidson County residents millions to correct.
Sheriff Daron Hall says the jail recently failed a state jail inspection for the first time in years.
He says the city needs to brace itself for building yet another jail. It's is true the city just spent 200 million to build this new jail downtown five years ago.
Yes and this jail is fine, but all it did was replace the old, broken down one.
No increase in the 700 inmate capacity.
And the problem now is overcrowding.
"That's dangerous and a major liability for the city to be overcrowded. Just this week we failed an inspection -- I don't knoow, maybe once or twice ever," said sheriff Daron Hall.
But, sheriff Hall saw it coming.
In recent years both the new downtown jail and the three buildings at the Harding Place campus are well over capacity.
How did it get so bad so fast?
Well, five years ago, the city decided to take over the CCA's private prison at Harding.
That was a sudden influx of five hundred inmates.
And then there's the problem of the state not transferring convicted felons to the prison system quickly enough.
"So these are high level convictions over a hundred that belong to the state custody that are backed up in our jails. They need to come get them," said Sheriff Hall.
Of course, as the population of Nashville continues to grow so does the crime rate The cost of arresting a suspect pales compared to the expense of locking them up.
"When you decide as a city to enforce the laws you have to be prepared to house the people in a constitutional way," said Hall.
Otherwise the sheriff says the city will face liability and expensive lawsuits and risk federal agencies becoming involved.
"It's our job and the city's job on how to fix that. "
The solution?
Build yet another jail.
Sheriff Hall says the Harding Place campus buildings must be replaced to increase capacity and for safety ...
"We are spending over a million dollars a year on band aids on those facilities -- they are old."
A new facility at the Harding campus will come with a hefty price tag, but the sheriff says the cost of doing nothing will be more.
He's already in talks with the mayor and council on plans for the future.
Total capacity for inmates at the two Davidson County jail campuses in about 2,300 inmates. They are both combined are currently three hundred inmates over capacity and that number is growing.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
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