PRATT, Kan. (AP) For the first time ever, Pratt County is sending inmates to other counties because of overcrowding at its jail.
Sheriff Vernon Chinn says he sent four inmates to Ford County recently because the jail was over its capacity of 30 beds. Chinn says the jail has seen a big increase in population this year, ranging from a low of 22 to a high of 38.
Chinn attributes the increase to cases taking longer to go to trial and inmates serving their sentences in the county jail, rather than being sent to prisons.
KAKE-TV reports the county plans to add 10 more beds in the next few years but Chinn says the jail will still be understaffed and overcrowded.
