LAFAYETTE, La. (KADN) — As a result of the existing jail overflow at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, some of those arrested are being booked and then immediately released, as others wait for hours to be processed while handcuffed to a bench.
Officials with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office held a briefing on Thursday, March 21, in which they said the overpopulation doesn't come from the lack of beds but from not being able to house non-violent and violent offenders together.
"But the classification dictates how many people we can have in a room based on the classification of the inmate that's in there," said Capt. John Mowell with LPSO.
As of Thursday morning, the Lafayette Parish jail had 556 inmates and will reach full capacity at 649 but has 739 beds for offenders.
Despite having enough beds, the sheriff’s office considers the jail overcrowded because of how inmates are classified.
"So, there's a whole host of reasons, including that they are just violent. This ends up eating up the number of beds in your jail. You might have two beds in a room where you can only house one individual," explained Capt. Mowell.
Offenders who are violent toward other inmates can't be around others, leaving one bed in a two-bed cell empty.
The sheriff's office also said the population problems come from pre-trial detainees.
"How long it takes from start to finish during the prosecution. The time of prosecution is going to affect the bed space and our capacity," added Capt. Mowell.
Inside the parish jail, there are 497 pre-trial detainees out of 556 inmates. The sheriff’s office said this affects the booking process.
"In this day and age, if they are taking someone to jail, they are selective who they take to jail because there's a jail overcrowding problem," noted Capt. Mowell.
Because of the overcrowding, the sheriff’s office said the booking process can take up to two days and offenders are often waiting.
