05/07/08

Officials from Rocky Mountain Corrections and officials from Twin Falls County met today to discuss the idea of a regional jail.

Captain Doug Hughes of the Twin Falls County Sheriff's office says that he is in need of additional forty beds for the inmates.

Right now he says 76 percent of the inmates are felons and they need a medium to high security facility to house these inmates.

Hughes says, "What I see happening in the future is those beds that we're getting now, are not going to be available to us for overcrowding purposes due to the state taking up those beds, other jails taking up these beds, beds are becoming harder and harder to find."

Consultants from Rocky Mountain Corrections presented a letter of intent for Twin Falls County to participate in the proposed regional jail in Gooding, but the commissioners want to wait and see what Jerome decides about their own situation.