ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Hundreds of Bernalillo County jail prisoners will be transferred to lockups outside the county in order to relieve crowding in the county jail in Albuquerque. The County Commission deadlocked 2-2 on a similar transfer plan last month but voted 4-1 Tuesday night to send about 300 inmates to jails and prisons elsewhere through June 2014 at a cost of about $7.4 million. Possible destinations include jails in Sandoval and Cibola counties.
County officials had warned that a federal judge could order the county to transfer even more inmates to help resolve a civilights lawsuit that centers on jail conditions. The Albuquerque Journal reports that commissioners stressed that transferring prisoners is intended only as a temporary measure.
The commission wants to use court programs to reduce the jail population.
