Coffee County Sheriff briefed the Law Enforcement Committee on Oct. 9 about jail population, state inspections and a possible ripple effect from intensified enforcement in Shelby County that could increase demand for county jail beds.

“If you look at the very back page of your packet, you'll see our population today at approximately 1PM was 382. 310 males and 75 females,” the sheriff said, adding that the jail has at times exceeded 400 and was recently recertified by state inspectors.

The sheriff told committee members that a spike in arrests and enforcement activity in Memphis and Shelby County is already straining that region’s facilities and could push more state or pretrial inmates onto other counties. “If they take pretrials to house them, that is really gonna clog the system up,” he said, noting that Shelby County at times has had hundreds in its booking area.

The sheriff said counties legally may be asked to house state inmates and that the county receives $41 per state inmate when that occurs, but he warned housing state or pretrial inmates shifts costs onto local coffers. “It’s local coffers that are paying for it,” he said. He also described uncertainty about how long the current surge in arrests will last and said local and regional sheriffs are coordinating to share resources.

On operational policies, the sheriff reviewed the department’s pursuit approach, saying the office does not have a no-pursuit policy but that supervisors weigh time of day, weather, traffic and the seriousness of the offense before continuing. “We do pursue,” he said. He recounted several recent incidents in which pursuits damaged vehicles and posed safety risks.

The sheriff also updated the committee on facility matters: the jail building was painted, which he said “brought new life to that building,” and air-conditioning and HVAC repairs remain under review. He told commissioners he does not want to spend large sums on unit replacement if repairs will suffice. The sheriff said temporary heaters are on hand if needed this winter.

He warned that counties can be asked to accept transfers and that declining assistance could draw political criticism. “I could decline, but it would not be in my best interest to do that,” he said, adding that cooperation has long been a feature of regional jail management.

The sheriff asked for feedback and said he wanted the committee to be aware of the regional situation so the committee could prepare if officials contact Coffee County about accepting inmates. No formal action was taken at the meeting.