BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As of now, Kern County jails do not have enough beds to house all the criminal suspects coming in, forcing them to release them in 24 hours or less. A community meeting was held for suggestions.

The City of Bakersfield needs the community's help to solve a long standing problem. Simply stated, there aren't enough beds at the Lerdo jail to hold suspects. The city is asking citizens for their ideas on how to solve this.

Lerdo Jail, which opened in 2018 was originally able to hold a little more than 800 inmates. Now it can hold close to 2200 inmates throughout their three facilities. But the jail is over capacity and community members are trying to find a solution to their early release issue.

Zack Bashirtash Ward 6 Councilmember said "What we know we need is m

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