Douglas County Jail hit a record high of 793 inmates Tuesday as concern grows about serious overcrowding at the aging facility and danger to correction personnel.

“Our previous record was 772 which we reached last summer,” Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said Tuesday afternoon. “It’s worrisome with these high numbers coming so early in the summer. When it’s above 750, the officer-to-inmate ration gets so high, it becomes a danger to our officers.”

The current county jail was opened in May, 1983, and was designed to hold 190 inmates, Copeland said. The court system then approved double bunking which raised the level to 350. Several renovations and additions have been made over the years, he added. Under current American Jail Association (AJA) square footage guidelines, the population should be no more than 485.

Two special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) referendums to build a new jail were rejected by voters in 2006 and 2008. Commission Chairman Tom Worthan said last month that he will likely ask the Board of Commissioners to seek another SPLOST vote this fall with only a new jail on the project list.

Copeland said summertime is usually busy, but not ordinarily this early. He said the population usually rises after July 4 and begins to level off in October. He said all kinds of options are being used to make the best of the bad situation.

More than 30 inmates have been sent to Irwin County, where they are housed under contract at $35 per inmate, per day, Copeland said. Another 25 female trusties have been moved into a portable tent structure on the local jail grounds.

“We’re trying everything we can do, but when the population gets over 750, the jail can hardly function,” he said.

Copeland said the majority of inmates are pre-trial people who are awaiting trial on serious charges and can’t make bond.

“State inmate count has been on the rise since the early part of this year,” he said. “These are felons who have been convicted and sentenced to state prison and we have to hold them until the state calls for them. The state has slowed down in picking them up, probably due to cutbacks in the state system.”

Copeland said the sheriff’s office is looking at all options with the courts, including lower bonds for some inmates and the possibility of sending more to Irwin County.

He said Douglas County once contracted with Carroll and Paulding counties to house overflow inmates but their cells are also full now.

“All the metro Atlanta jails we checked were full,” he said. “Three months ago, we entered into a contract with Irwin County when we couldn’t find space in the metro area.”

Copeland said Irwin, whose county seat is Ocilla, is located in South Georiga, about a three-hour drive from Douglasville.