City Prosecutor Wants To Study Jail Overcrowding In S.L. County

None by Eric Ray

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill is calling for a study to show just how many jail beds Salt Lake County needs in relation to the growing population. Gill says overcrowding of the county jail has long been an issue, but the county council and others in charge have only guessed at the number of beds needed.

Gill says the county's need to be fiscally responsible must be balanced against public safety concerns. Gill favors alternatives to incarceration, but says there must still be enough jail beds for the legal system to have teeth. Gill says re-opening Oxbow Jail, closed since 2000, may be a solution to that problem.

Gill says the jail is increasing the criteria for keeping individuals in jail because of the scarcity of beds. He says the jail is getting to the point that they are unable to keep in jail some individuals they believe should be held.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW