MORE JAIL SPACE

For the past couple of years, the Cape Girardeau County Jail has battled intermittent overcrowding problems.

The solution to the problem seems to be expansion of the jail, which gives rise to another problem: How to pay for it. Now county officials hope they have the solution to that problem as well.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission has authorized a feasibility study to see if enough space is available for expansion of the jail in Jackson. That study will generate a cost estimate the county will submit to the federal government as part of a Cooperative Agreement Program grant application. The program provides construction money to build jail cells, many of which would be occupied by federal prisoners. The federal government then would contract with the county to house federal prisoners in that space, paying a daily fee for each prisoner.

Most federal prisoners currently are held in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties due to the lack of space in the Cape Girardeau County Jail. But with a new federal courthouse slated for construction in Cape Girardeau -- a courthouse that will house a full-time federal judge -- it makes sense to hold in the county federal prisoners awaiting trial in Cape Girardeau.

Expanding the county jail would save the federal government time and money transporting prisoners. By contributing to the construction costs, the federal government would save the county money in expanding its jail.

The federal grant is by no means a sure thing, and even if the government approves Cape Girardeau County's application, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones won't commit the county to an agreement until he is certain it is what the county needs. Such agreements typically involve local matching funds, and government restrictions might be attached to the agreement that would prove a detriment to the jail's operation.

Regardless, Cape Girardeau County needs a bigger jail. The federal grant might be one way to get one in a manner that is cost efficient for the county and the federal government.