Exclusive Report: Life Inside Ada County Jail [photos]

Voters will decide this week whether to approve additional funding to expand the Ada County Jail. A former Ada County Sheriff once told me that the jail was the largest mental health facility in the state. The jail could be considered an additional city in Ada County, considering the amount of work, from laundry to feeding thousands, that happens several times a day.

We were invited to take a tour of the jail, and we'll share with you our extensive photos from that visit below. Our state, and especially our area, have seen a record amount of growth in the last ten years. Law enforcement's responsibilities and ability to keep us safe have also grown.

One does not need to spend a lot of time in jail to understand the incredible responsibilities of the guards and support staff. Could you imagine being confined to a cell with three other strangers for more than twenty hours daily? Others within the jail live in large group settings with lines of bunk beds and restrooms with no privacy.

Inmates at the jail can rehabilitate themselves by taking classes or working for the facility in a support position such as laundry, cleaning, or another job.

If approved by the voters, the bond would fund almost three hundred new beds, a new warehouse and expand the other facilities that were built for a must smaller jail population. Canyon County residents have rejected several attempts to fund an expansion or a new jail for their county.