The Howard County inmate shuffle

Overcrowding has sheriff shipping inmates to other counties, DOC

Overcrowding at the Howard County Jail is nothing new. Over the years, detention pods have been repurposed. Recreations areas have been converted, and at times bunks have been placed on floors to handle the exorbitantly large number of inmates.

The county also has shipped out inmates to other facilities when feasible to relieve overcrowding. That practice continues today, as the Howard County Sheriff’s Department recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fulton County to house inmates.

Howard County Sheriff Jerry Asher reported the new development to the Howard County Council at its May 24 meeting.

“Fulton County just built a new jail,” said Asher. “We have 18 inmates at the Tipton County Jail, but they are now full. Now we have 19 inmates in Fulton County to try to give us a little space. We had 471 inmates last week. When I signed the MOU, we had 463. We were at 457 this morning (May 24).”

The numbers Asher disclosed did not include the inmates housed in other counties. But the cost of shipping inmates to other counties had some council members concerned.