Cass County Jail grapples with overcapacity as expansion nears completion – InForum

FARGO – A total of 52 inmates from the Cass County Jail are being held elsewhere because the jail is overcrowded.

The prison administration says that it is more than ready to expand the prison, but is busy with administration in the meantime.

Captain Andrew Frobig, the warden of the Cass County Jail, said staff are doing everything they can to find space for all inmates.

Those not housed in prison are being held in nearby county jails, are under house arrest and are receiving inpatient treatment for substance abuse or behavioral problems, he said.

Fargo's population growth, delays in court proceedings and an increase in violent crime in the region have contributed to the prison reaching capacity, he said.

Frobig said the prison addition should be completed in April. It will add 192 beds, a nearly 60% increase over the prison's current capacity.

“We're getting to the point where we're running out of space in all of our other facilities as well,” he said. “And I really don't know what the next step will be when we run out of levers to pull. We're obviously hoping that we have enough space and can get by until the new addition is finished.”

He said the prison is expected to have more space than it currently has in the next decade. However, he said population growth in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area is already outpacing those projections, so overall capacity could be lower in the coming years.