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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Inmates Crowd Kootenai County Jail

From Staff And Wire Reports

The Kootenai County Jail reached a record population last weekend as 192 inmates squeezed into a facility designed to hold 123.

Some inmates slept on floors while others slept on military cots set up in the work release section of the jail, said Lt. Geraldine Riggs. The laundry staff struggled to provide the extra blankets, sheets and pillow cases needed.

Riggs said the jail reached its peak population between Friday night and Saturday morning. By Tuesday morning the number of inmates had decreased to 179.

Riggs’ prognosis for the near future was bleak.

“I think by early June we’ll have reached 200,” she said. “I would have expected it to come later than that but the arrests are really, really taking off.”

A new 120-bed minimum security center is expected to be built this year.

, DataTimes MEMO: IDAHO HEADLINE: County jail hits record for inmates

IDAHO HEADLINE: County jail hits record for inmates