TUCSON, Ariz. — Pima County's years-long effort to reduce the jail population continues.
Officials unveiled plans for a first of its kind new pretrial services screening and reentry building on Friday.
County officials started working on ways to lower the inmate count to avoid building a new jail. They say people with lower level misdemeanors -- like failure to appear, or shoplifting -- will be released with the needed resources, including temporary housing.
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The building will be located on the east side of the Pima County Adult Detention Center. The cost is approximately $5.5 million.
Construction will begin in 2021 and is expected to be complete in 2022.
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A temporary screening space will open mid-June.
Here’s a little bit of what the new pretrial services building will look like. @PimaSheriff Dept. says this facility will allow up to 500 misdemeanor defendants avoid entering the jail altogether pic.twitter.com/XlzzmcfiHh
— Natalie Tarangioli (@ntarangioli) May 31, 2019
