Imagine being stuffed into a broom closet with three of your siblings, three of the people you like least or three of your ex-significant others.

Now imagine being stuffed in there for a week.

It's not a pretty scenario. But it's similar to one that inmates at the Mower County Jail experience every day.

The jail's capacity is 45 and it is not supposed to be in excess of that for more than seven days. After seven days, the jail must contact all other facilities within 100 miles and find vacancies.

However, the daily population is consistently above that and the numbers are not going down. The jail had 64 inmates Thursday.

"A lot of people are under the impression that we arrest people and put them in custody and they're good because they're in custody. But that's not the case. People don't behave just because they're in custody," says Bob Roche, the jail administrator.

"Just because they're in jail does not mean they quit their aggressive, criminal behavior," Mower County Sheriff Barry Simonson agrees. "They still take advantage of inmates to run the TV, to take charge of quiet time, to soak up some extra food."

"The more people you have in there, the more problems you have because there are more personalities and more opinions," adds Mower County Chief Deputy Terese Amazi.

Drug, health, mental and behavioral problems, along with race issues, all contribute to the chaos inside the jail. "People are throwing food, throwing feces. It's a tough place," says Simonson. Add to that the inmates who arrive with body lice, inmates who talk to the wall, inmates who hallucinate, inmates who can't speak English, inmates who have histories of violence and inmates who lash out whenever anyone tries to come near them, and it becomes a bad situation, according to law enforcement.

It's not just bad for the inmates, it also is stressful for the jail staff who have to monitor the activity of the inmates and try to put everyone in an acceptable situation.

It would be easier if the inmates could be separated, but because the jail is so full, there isn't any way for that to happen, Simonson explains.

Obviously, "we have got to do something," Roche says.

The county is taking steps to alleviate the problem. A consultant has been hired to examine the problem and make a suggestion about what would be the best course of action for the county. Simonson says possible solutions include building a new jail, renovating the old one or leasing beds elsewhere.

Any of the solutions are expensive and would cost millions of dollars. For the moment the county has contracted with a Steele and Mitchell counties. Mitchell County guarantees Mower County 12 beds for $40 a day. The beds in Steele County will not be available until its new jail is completed, which is expected to take at least two years. That contract guarantees 15 beds for $69 a day.

"We've looked at this for a long time and we've made a lot of changes to alleviate it. We've looked for a solution, but it ain't getting any better," says Simonson.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com