Buncombe County jail operating over design capacity as pretrial and misdemeanor bookings rise

Lee Creighton, the county strategy and innovation analyst, told the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council that Buncombe County Jail has been operating beyond both its operational and design capacities.

"Operational capacity for the facility is a maximum of 470 people," Creighton said, and he reported the facility's design capacity is 524 but that the county was "at 554" and therefore beyond design capacity. He said July average daily population was about 504 and the overall population is 13% higher year over year. Creighton said the county's pretrial population was 18% higher between July 2025 and July 2026 and that misdemeanor bookings are up 23% from last year.

Creighton attributed the increases to multiple drivers: higher bookings, longer lengths of stay across charge types, and a statutory change implemented in December (referred to in the meeting as "Irena's law") that has narrowed the use of unsecured bonds for people with prior convictions. He said felony lengths of stay are roughly a week longer than before the pandemic and misdemeanants are staying about three days longer on average, which compounds into substantially more jail days across thousands of bookings.

Council members asked for deeper data and next steps. Chair (speaker 2) said the CJCC strategic plan and diversion efforts are the forum to identify concrete actions. The council did not vote on any immediate changes during the briefing; members discussed better coordination with state transport capacity and diversion programs to reduce reincarceration and relieve pressure on the jail.