MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The county jail’s population is “soaring” this year, as repair issues force the sheriff’s office to close off sections of housing, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says.

The sheriff’s office said bookings at 201 Poplar have reached “unprecedented” numbers as Memphis Police, U.S. Marshals, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and others bring more people than ever to the Jail.

For example, the SCSO reported that 2,272 men were booked into the jail in June 2025, compared to 1,570 in June 2021.

This comes as the county struggles to make repairs to 201 Poplar’s doors, plumbing, elevators, and more, and the sheriff advocates for a new jail. Housing units were being closed on a rolling basis as repairs were made.

“Not only is the facility breaking down — with repairs to doors, plumbing, elevators, escalators,
electrical now in the multi-millions — there is simply not enough space to house the people
brought to the Jail at 201 Poplar,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release Thursday.

SCSO said the average length of stay at the Jail is growing “exponentially” — but the office can’t force courts or prosecutors to process cases more quickly. Shelby County has two fewer judges to prosecute the cases than it did just three years ago.

SCSO also complained that about 130 convicted inmates who should be in a state penitentiary were housed at the jail because the state hasn’t come to get them.

Sheriff Floyd Bonner has contacted other sheriffs in Tennessee, and dozens of inmates are being transferred to other Tennessee counties, the sheriff’s office said.

WREG spoke to a woman who wants to remain anonymous about how the overcrowding has impacted her child’s father, who’s been in custody since June.

“He said 375 to 400 people. He said it’s very crowded, they sleeping in chairs, it’s real hot in there, they can’t take showers, they got on their regular clothes. You know, it takes them about five days to get a process in, if that,” she said.

In a newsletter, Shelby County District Attorney General acknowledged the jail had an intake problem. Mulroy said recent reporting indicates that over 350 arrestees are waiting multiple days to be processed at Shelby County.

He said there are so many that there aren’t enough chairs for them.

“These are people who’ve been arrested but not convicted of any crime, people who are just waiting to be assigned a cell so they have a bed to sleep in. Over a quarter of them wait for over a week until they are assigned a cell. Some wait more than two weeks. Some are sleeping in the showers, making it impossible for others to take a shower during this time. Everyone involved agrees this is unacceptable, and officials are working on the problem. A related problem is that of jail overcrowding. Our 45-year-old, dilapidated Jail–a jail with broken cell doors that don’t lock, and broken plumbing, electrical, escalators, and elevators—has a capacity of 2,400 but currently has over 2,900 people in it. This is also unacceptable,” said Mulroy.

Mulroy stated that the Tennessee Department of Corrections has contributed to the overcrowding problem by delaying the transfer of convicted inmates to the state prison. He said cases also need to move more quickly through the court system.

Mulroy claims a new, bigger jail will only provide a short-term solution.