Representatives from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department corrections division are hoping the new Indio jail will not only help reduce jail crowding, but that it will also help ease tensions within the inmate population.

Sources close to the jails say things have gotten so packed that some offenders are getting in trouble on purpose, just so they can be tossed in the SHU.

Recent inspections of the Riverside County Jails showed the current facilities have a lot of blind spots in their surveillance systems.  Inmates are also incredibly cramped together.  It's a recipe for disaster.

Jails throughout the state have been doing more with less since late 2011 after the state's inmate realignment kicked in.  Under that mandate, certain offenders who would have once served their time in state prisons started being re-routed to county jails.

Local facilities quickly started to burst at the seams.

Statistics show that Riverside County detention centers are among the most overcrowded in the state.  Part of this has to do with a fast-growing local population, but part of it goes back to realignment.

The forecast improvements

The current Indio Jail, which is decades old and was never designed to hold inmates for a long period of time, has long been in need of an upgrade.

Deputies say that every inch of spare space is now being used and they are still feeling the pinch of operating at overcapacity.

Once the expansion is complete, the building will be designed in such a way that staffing numbers can be reduced.  It will have better lines of sight for the guards and will offer many inmate educational programs geared toward reducing recidivism.

A spokesperson for the sheriff's department say they are excited about the upcoming improvements. Not only will the upgraded facility be safer for staff, it will be safer for the inmates as well.

Read the full story here:  New Indio Jail to ease overcrowding