NEBRASKA CITY- When the Otoe County Jailhouse was first built in 1988 the total occupancy was set for 21 inmates and the average number of inmates was only four.

Now, in the most recent tallies, the jail houses 18.38 inmates on average. According to Sheriff Colin Caudill, the high for the year was just above 28 inmates. Caudill also says that the jail house is deemed full at 16 inmates. 

Caudill says that the jail houses some inmates in other facilities for various reason including "overcrowding, fresh arrests that come in daily, and because of the change of jail standards there is a threat assessment."

Caudill states that because of the threat assessment some inmates cannot be housed with other inmates because it is a security risk.

Along with inmates being outsourced, the Otoe County jail has been non-ADA compliant for the majority of its lifetime. Built just two years before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Caudill says that the jail house is not ADA compliant because of the "hallways, the width of the door... obviously the change of building code from '88 to 2021 would be the reason why we (Otoe County jail) are not ADA-compliant."

Caudill says that the numbers from 2020 have been lower due to COVID-19, but with some of the restrictions lifted the average number of inmates has climbed to just under 18.

According to Caudill, the jail has been over budget on outsourcing prison contracts to the surrounding area for the last two years. Although Caudill did not say by how much, he says this years budget was set at $90,000.