BANNOCK COUNTY LATEST TO DEAL WITH JAIL OVERCROWDING

POCATELLO, Idaho - Bannock County's jail is the latest local lockup
considering ways to address overcrowding.

Currently, the jail in Pocatello has 295 inmates in a facility built
to sleep 264.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen says "We do have people sleeping on the floor."

Nielsen could consider sentencing alternatives for offenders charged
with relatively minor crimes.

Bannock County isn't alone in Idaho as it struggles to make space for
prisoners.

State Department of Correction officials have sent more than 400
inmates to Minnesota and Texas to relieve overcrowding.

In addition, Kootenai, Jerome, Canyon and other counties have been
wrestling with an influx of inmates that exceed their often-aging
jails' capacities _ especially as more and more people are arrested
on drug-related charges.