Jail to use gym, port-a-potties to ease crowding

At a capacity not seen since 2008, Metro Corrections is about to fill the last unoccupied area of its overflow space and is converting gymnasiums to house its steadily rising inmate population.

The moves are a reaction to an inmate population boom that mirrors overcrowding at the state level, which officials have attributed to an increase in drug-related arrests and parole violations, among other factors.

Steve Durham, assistant director at Metro Corrections, said a broken pipe delayed the Monday opening of the only remaining unused space in the 1950s-era jail above Louisville Metro Police headquarters. Amid safety concerns, the shuttered jail space was reopened in April when there were about 2,050 inmates already in custody.

Nearly 100 inmates are already housed in the overflow area, and Durham said about 30 individuals were set to move into the final unopened area late Tuesday.

Jail staff is also working to outfit two gymnasiums with temporary bathrooms, showers and beds.

"We don’t see this population log jam breaking anytime soon," Durham said. "We can’t just wait until we’re bursting at every seam to open the gym space."

While there's no official opening date for the converted gyms, Durham noted current housing arrangements aren't optimal conditions.

The jail space above the police department closed in 2008 because it didn't meet standards for fire suppression – there's no sprinkler system – and smoke evacuation but has been used sporadically when the inmate numbers swell. It also lacks full video surveillance.

The jail also plans to add temporary beds in minimum security dorms.

As of Monday, Metro Corrections reported 2,146 inmates in its custody, well above the 1,793-bed design capacity.

Corrections officers are working both voluntary and forced, unbudgeted overtime to handle the overflow population.

"No one is satisfied with such working conditions," Durham said.

There are 367 inmates at the Louisville jail ready to be transferred into the custody of the state, which has few places to house them.

Kentucky Department of Corrections data show most state prisons are full and the rest are nearly full.

About 11,500 of the state's 24,000 inmates are housed in jails across the state. Nearly three-quarters of these jails are above capacity. More than a dozen are 150 percent full.

The reopening of a pair of private prisons to alleviate the strains on the system could be on the horizon, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary John Tilley told The Courier-Journal last week.

Kentucky last used private prisons – some of which were the subject of lawsuits and allegations of sexual misconduct and poor health care – in 2013.

Tilley said the state could move around 1,600 inmates to the Marion Adjustment Center in St. Mary and the Lee Adjustment Center in Beattyville – both owned by Corrections Corp. of America.

"We'll do everything in our power to avoid any of those problems that have existed in the past," Tilley said last week, adding accountability would be the main focus should private prisons be utilized.

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.