CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — After nearly 20 years of delays, Canyon County will finally build a new women's jail facility on an empty lot in Caldwell, addressing a serious overcrowding crisis that has plagued the county's jail system for decades.

Over the years, Canyon County voters have denied three bond proposals to build a new facility. This forced the county to rely on temporary fixes such as sending general population inmates to a tent facility that was originally intended to house work-release inmates.

"So we are no longer holding nonviolent offenders. This facility plans for the future and it will meet the goal of incarcerating people that should not be in the community," said Commissioner Leslie Van Beek.

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