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| Sheriff Wants to Expand Jail |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/16/2006 |
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Nevada's Washoe County Sheriff's Office wants to expand the overcrowded county jail. The sheriff recently applied to the city of Reno for a special use permit to add more than 200 beds to the facility to accommodate a total of 946 inmates. Department officials say the jail already is crowded and is faced with a continually growing population. The jail has gone through three expansions since it was built in 1988 with a capacity of 486 inmates. The proposed expansion would cost an estimated $19 million. It would include a 31,575-square-foot housing facility and a 4,487-square-foot library, to be paid for with a 1.5-cent property tax increase dedicated to public safety that was levied in 2003. That tax has generated $7 million. The Washoe County Commission in November approved issuing $12.5 million in bonds to make up the difference. The bonds will be repaid with the property tax. The tax also will pay for the operations of the expansion and 32 additional employees. No marked increase in crime required the additional housing, officials said. Rather it's a result of Washoe County's growing population and resulting natural growth in crime. The jail averages about 1,100 inmates daily and exceeds capacity with regularity, said Lt. Todd Vinger, who will become a commander in charge of the jail. The jail can handle 1,124 inmates daily because of the balance between inmates coming and being released, Vinger said. The new housing will be used primarily to consolidate the growing number of female inmates in the jail. Women are currently in various parts of the detention center, Vinger said. The growing number of female inmates has also made housing them more difficult. |
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