Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith told the County Commission that there were 300 inmates being house in the county detention center.
The capacity of the jail is around 200 inmates, but Smith said they have been running around the 300-area for a while.
He said that he had been going over the jail log very carefully and talking with the courts.
He said a major portion of those are indigent defendants who get out on parole or probation and then they violate or have new offenses.
He said there’s a company out of Springfield, Mo., that does temporary housing.
Smith has been working with PH&J Architects discussing jail construction with them to see what the county’s options are.
“You can make it through my term,” he said. “But you won’t make it through the next one (without having to build).”
Smith said the new regulations and guidelines are a lose-lose for county governments.
Smith told the commission he would have information for them back within the next two months.
“You could build up out back of the jail or you could use the property across the street,” he said. “I’m looking at 100-150 beds. Anything less than 100 would be a waste of time.”