LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A consultant is recommending that Nebraska expand its three prison facilities and add beds to ease overcrowding, at a projected cost of nearly $262 million.
The Department of Correctional Services announced the proposals Tuesday in a news release. Director Mike Kenney says prison officials have tried nearly every alternative to alleviate overcrowding, and adding beds is a last resort.
The consultant recommends the expansion over five years, starting with 450 new beds at the Community Corrections Center in Lincoln.
The second project would add 300 beds at the Community Corrections Center in Omaha. The third project would be a 358-bed Medical/Intake/Food Service expansion between the Lincoln Correctional Center and the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln.
The facilities would cost an estimated more than $31 million annually to operate.
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