posted April 15, 2005
Prisoner numbers are up dramatically at the Hamilton County Jail and Workhouse in recent days, and one reason given is the "Operation Falcon" roundup of fugitives.
That dragnet brought in 90 felons, 44 misdemeanants and six federal prisoners here, officials said.
The overcrowding situation was so bad on Friday that judges were being asked to consider giving early release to some inmates.
Barbara Payne, county corrections director, said the female unit at Silverdale has a record number of prisoners. She said it is certified for 160, and it was up to 183 prisoners Thursday before getting 12 more today.
She said another 12 female inmates are due in tonight to serve 48-hour terms. They will be put in the medical observation area.
Ms. Payne said the women's unit averaged 169 prisoners in February and 181 in March.
She said the number in the men's unit at the workhouse is up to 594. The average for February was 571 and for March was 564.
At the county jail, there were 564 prisoners. The average in February was 539 and for March was 547.
"We are way overcapacity, but we are finding places to put people," she said.
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