12/4/12 - With overcrowding presenting a constant problem in the Livingston County Jail, the Board of Commissioners last night approved spending up to $50,000 next year to house female inmates at other correctional facilities. Women represent the fastest-growing segment of the jail population. The county jail was built to sleep 31 female inmates but according to Commissioner Dave Domas, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, that number is regularly exceeded and occasionally approaches 50. The county is currently sending female prisoners to Montcalm County, which is located northeast of Grand Rapids and has room to spare in its county jail. The county pays Montcalm a daily fee ranging from $24 to about $40 per prisoner to pay for room and board. Domas says even this option is limited since the only prisoners who can take advantage of it are minimum- or medium-security women who have already been sentenced, are not violent offenders, and have no special medical needs. He says designs are currently being considered for an expanded Livingston County Jail that would provide more housing for all inmates, including females. (TD)
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