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Expansion of Kootenai Co. Jail will help with overcrowding

Twice in February, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said they broke their own record number of inmates with 100 more people than they have beds. Officials are in the process of expanding the jail.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – The Kootenai County Jail has been struggling with overcrowding for years.

Twice in February, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said they broke their own record number of inmates with 100 more people than they have beds. Officials are in the process of expanding the jail.

Sheriff’s officials expect construction of the expansion project at the county jail to wrap up Labor Day weekend. When it is completed, they hope to use that as a selling point when they look to hire about 16 additional deputies.

"Working in a new facility with new technology is a great recruiting tool because who really wants to work in the jail I worked in that was built in 1923," Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said.

As of Tuesday, the Kootenai County jail is about 110 inmates over capacity, and it is housing inmates in five different counties because of the overflow. Wolfinger said the expansion project addresses this by making more space to keep its inmates and taxpayer dollars in Kootenai County.

"Having them here is a great benefit for us. Transporting inmates is always a safety risk, and when we're transporting as far away as Yakima, it just exasperates that risk,” Wolfinger explained.

The expansion project includes additional inmate units and 28 new medial units with a sally port for an ambulance attached to the medical units.

They will need additional deputies in order for operations in the expanded facility to run smoothly. The sheriff's office is hosting a career day to recruit the best qualified candidates this weekend. According to the Human Resources director, the starting salary for new hires would be about $20 an hour with a retirement fund and full benefits package.

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