Jail Overcrowding Dominates Committee Hearing

The Eau Claire County committee on judiciary and law enforcement is looking into questions about overcrowding at the county jail.  The topic dominated conversation at the committee’s meeting Thursday night, with an officer in the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Department saying there were no easy answers.  The average daily population at the county jail has nearly doubled in recent years.  As of Thursday, there were close to 300 inmates at the facility, over the jail’s full capacity.  The committee believes that meth abuse is a primary cause for the increase.