Oklahoma County jail population hits record low

OKLAHOMA CITY — The population at the Oklahoma County Jail has hit a record low.

This comes weeks ahead of an inspection by the U.S. Department of Justice. As of Tuesday, the jail’s population stood at 1,549, according to District Three Chief Deputy Rick Buchanan.

The decline is the result of several entities coming together to ensure those who don't necessarily need to be arrested aren't being booked into the jail.

"Hopefully we'll get it down to around 1,000, said Buchanan. “We may have to have a separate facility for infirmary and a separate facility for addiction issues and mental health, But, ultimately, if we could get that down to where we have one person per cell, which is what was built for, that would be just fantastic."

Buchanan says a smaller population is allowing for some much-needed renovations.

"Because of the lower population, the sheriff is going in and cleaning out pods, we're repairing holes in the wall, we're repairing lights. We're repairing a lot of things that's going to make it cleaner for everybody once we shift things around,” Buchanan said.

The DOJ inspection is expected to take place early next year.