The Mason County Detention Center has relocated female inmates to another area of the facility in order to house the growing population of female offenders.

The detention center houses an average of 10 to 12 female inmates daily. In the past couple of months that number has increased to nearly 30 inmates daily.

Mason County Jailer Bob Tribby said he does not know exactly when the increase of female inmates occurred, but he has noticed the rise in numbers within the past couple of months.

Normally the detention center runs right at capacity, which is 109 beds and 10 detox beds, Tribby said. The detention center houses an average of 110 to 120 total inmates, but the number fluctuates daily.

"You don't know from day to day what your population is going to be," Tribby said.

As of Monday, there were about 139 inmates in the facility, 28 were female.

Tribby said he does not know why the number of women has increased, but other jails in the state are experiencing the same trend.

The detention center houses four types of female offenders — women who have been charged with misdemeanor crimes, women charged and convicted of misdemeanor crimes, women charged with felony offenses who are in various stages of the judicial process and women convicted of felony offenses who are waiting transfer to the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Peewee Valley, Tribby said.

The Mason County Detention Center has relocated the women and expanded the number of cells devoted to housing the female inmates. The women were housed in two cells in a separate location from the male inmates; the area was secluded. The females have been relocated to three cells in the center of the jail "where there is more activity," Tribby said.

The windows looking into the new cells have been covered so the females cannot be viewed from the hallway outside the cells. The covered windows prevent the male inmates from seeing the women while they are traveling through the hallway outside the cells.

Tribby said the relocation has created a "little extra burden" on the deputies who work at the detention center because the female deputies must go into the female cell area more frequently to check on the inmates.

The daily pressures are tough on the deputies, especially for the female deputies, he said.

"The constant mental stress is hard to deal with," Tribby said. "They've got to be on their toes … It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of the staff, the inmates and the general public."

Contact Kasey Doyle at kasey.doyle@lee.net or call 564-9091, ext. 318.