SCOTT COUNTY, Iowa — The Scott County Jail has been placed on a partial lockdown, Sheriff Tim Lane informed News 8.
The decision comes after "excessive fighting in the general population" has resulted in assaults on correctional officers. Lane said most of the assaults have not resulted in serious injuries.
"The Scott County Jail is seeing the lowest numbers of correctional officers right now than we have seen in at least a decade," Lane said. The sheriff added that he needs to hire around a dozen new officers "to relieve the overtime."
The jail currently has about 300 inmates but the ratio of inmates to officers is not where it needs to be, according to Lane. The partial lockdown will mean half of the inmates are locked down for half the day, and then the other half of inmates will be on lockdown for the remainder of the day.
"This relieves the correctional officer of the high ratio of inmates to correctional officers and is considered safer," Lane said. "But over the long-term it is not good for the facility and its operation."
The new protocol has been effective in reducing incidents in the jail, Lane said. However, the shortage in staffing is still a major concern and has been ongoing for the past year.
The sheriff said he has submitted a proposal to county administrators and officials to help find ways on relieving the problem short-term as well as long-term.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel