By Jane Prendergast and Sharon Coolidge
Enquirer staff writers

Hamilton County's jail population hit its highest point Thursday in more than 15 years, leading the sheriff to again start releasing inmates early and making another pitch for a new jail.

The crowding also prompted Sheriff Simon Leis to announce that he'll allow people charged with non-violent crimes to be processed at the jail and given a date to return to court - without spending the night behind bars. He did that in the spring with female inmates, but this time he said the plan applies to men, too.

As of 4 a.m. Thursday, the total number of inmates climbed to 2,218 - 1,909 men and 309 women. Leis said that was the highest ever recorded at facilities controlled by his office.

He is in his fourth, four-year term and is running unopposed for a fifth.

The plan will continue until the number of inmates is reduced to a manageable number, his office said.

He did not say how many would be released.

The total capacity at his four detention facilities is 2,270.

"Overcrowding in the jail continues to prove what I have contended for years. We must build a new jail,'' Leis said in a statement. "I resent the fact I must early release and 'process-only' inmates. However, until the commissioners listen and recognize this increasing problem, I must do so.''

Earlier this year when Leis announced he would allow women arrested to be processed, but not jailed overnight, city officials said it sent a bad message to police officers they were urging to make more arrests and also to residents who call to report neighborhood crime problems, most of which are crimes for which anyone arrested would not be jailed overnight.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said Thursday he didn't fault Leis.

"There's only so much room at the inn,'' he said. "He does what he has to do - you can't put them in hotels.''

He didn't have statistics when contacted Thursday afternoon, but said it has seemed like his office has been busier recently.

"In the summertime, we generally see a spike in crime," Allen said.

Leis operates three other jail facilities, some specifically for substance abuse offenses; the justice center is the largest.

County commissioners, as well as County Administrator David Krings, have said they would consider ways to alleviate jail crowding.

But they said the problem wouldn't necessarily be solved by building a new jail, which is expensive and often prompts outcries from the neighborhoods where officials suggest they go.

They said they would talk about alternative programs.

But Leis says he needs a new 1,500-bed jail that would house both men and women.

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E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com, scoolidge@enquirer.com