There have been several discussions as to what is the proper size for the new jail that is being proposed. I will share my thoughts in a moment.
First, here are the facts: For operational reasons, Johnson County keeps the population of the current facility at about 65 inmates. But that requires paying other counties to house between 15 and 50 inmates each day in their facilities. The average daily population as of this writing is about 93, meaning an average of 28 people are housed elsewhere every day.
Our jail experts at Shive Hattery have taken this data, entered it into their programs, and come up with a suggested number of 140 beds. Some folks have claimed that this number is way too large. The Sheriff and others feel the number is about right. To me, this is decided pretty simply. What evidence does each side have to back up their arguments?…