Thursday, February 7, 2013 10:55 am

Officials from the Tennessee Corrections Institute are giving authorities 60 days to collect information about overcrowding at the Cannon County Jail.

 “I don’t want to build jails. I want to build schools,” said Bob Bass, detention facilities specialist with the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI). But building new jails or expanding existing ones is often the only option.

 The facility often has 60 inmates in a jail that was built in 1993 for a maximum of 43 inmates. TCI is looking into that problem as part of a plan of action Cannon County agreed to in 2012. The county entered into TCI’s County Corrections Partnership Initiative as a result.

 This initiative is designed to help the county avoid lawsuits for constitutional violations.

 TCI is required to establish minimum standards for adult local jails, lock-ups, workhouses and detention facilities in Tennessee. TCI also provides technical assistance and conducts research in relation to requests from local correctional detention facilities, the Tennessee legislature and other state agencies.

 Bass met with Sheriff Darrell Young, Woodbury Police Chief Kevin Mooneyham and the members of the County Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee Wednesday night (Feb. 6) at the Courthouse. Miller Meadows, detention facilities specialist, also met with local officials.