Being arrested in North Idaho could land you in an eastern Washington jail. The Kootenai County Jail is keeping some inmates across the state line because it's too full.
The problem right now surrounds the high security wing of the jail. It's so full officials are being forced to find new ways to house the inmates.
Those overcrowding decisions require shipping off inmates to jails in Nez Perce County, Idaho. 23 are there right now. Others are all the way in Ferry County, Washington.
With the overflow problem growing, Kootenai County is closing more deals with other jails to store felons. The county just inked one with Okanagan County, Washington. Inmates will start going there by the end of next week.
Outsourcing jail space isn't cheap for tax payers. Captain Kim Edmondson says it's costing the county about $273,000 a year. It's an extra cost not factored into the budget that will rise to about $300,000 by the end of the fiscal year. That doesn't include some travel costs or overtime to move the inmates back and forth.
We're told nothing is being done right now to fix the overcrowding because voters have shot down different options for more jail space.
