The Vera Institute of Justice published a study earlier this month, which focused on Vigo County. The study found that while jail populations are decreasing in urban areas, they are increasing in rural ones like Vigo County. Researchers say it’s not due to an increase in crime, but rather jail expansions and policy decisions.

Indiana lawmakers are pushing local criminal justice leaders to examine more closely why people are incarcerated.

State leaders from all three branches of government say local criminal justice officials should decide how to handle inmates in county jails during the COVID-19 crisis.

A bipartisan task force to address jail overcrowding kicked off the first of three meetings with local law enforcement around the state Monday in French Lick.

The National Alliance for Mental Illness says about two million people with mental illnesses are booked into jails every year. The problem is especially big in Indiana, where many jails are housing far more inmates than they are supposed to.

As counties across Indiana grapple with exploding jail populations, some state lawmakers are looking at ways to give them relief. They're proposing changes that include directing more funding to counties and sending some felons back to prisons.

The bill would allow overcrowded county jails to move low-level, nonviolent felons to regional facilities run by the Department of Correction.

The bill would allow overcapacity jails to move some of those felons to state Department of Correction facilities - if the DOC has space.

Many Indiana county jails struggle with overcrowding, so a common practice is to transfer inmates to another jail that has available space.

The majority of sheriffs say their inmate population has increased significantly since the passage of a criminal code revision nearly four years ago.