The Garland County Sheriff's Department announced the suspension Friday of the one-for-one policy it put into effect for male prisoners last week as a result of overcrowding at the detention center.
The department's news release said measures such as alternative sentences and early releases have freed up capacity in the five male pods, lifting the temporary closure instituted last week.
"As such, the temporary issues we were facing with over population for males has been corrected, and we are accepting new intakes," the release said.
The one-for-one policy required one man to be released for every one booked into the jail. The policy has been in effect for women since February.
The department said last week that a male population of 252 and a female population of 58 is the threshold for the one-for-one policy. State inmates held at the jail as part of a work release program are not counted toward those totals. The inmate count was unknown Friday, as the department had not responded to a request for population figures by presstime.
A presentation by Sheriff Mike McCormick and Chief Deputy of Corrections Steven Elrod is on the agenda for Monday night's Garland County Quorum Court Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee meeting. Details on the presentation have not been released.
The department closed the jail without public notice last week, announcing it in a memo obtained by The Sentinel-Record. A committee that reports to the quorum court recommended the closure, convening without advance notice to the media.
Local on 07/20/2019