As Kansas City continues to grapple with rising crime and the long lead time before a permanent jail can be built, officials are exploring a temporary solution: a modular “trailer jail” that could be operational as early as this fall.

The City Council approved a resolution Thursday directing the city manager’s office to assess the feasibility of constructing a temporary jail. The site could be near the city tow lot or another parcel of city-owned land, and the facility would serve as a stopgap until the planned $200 million jail is completed next to the new Jackson County Detention Center.

The concept is modeled after Greene County, Missouri’s successful use of temporary trailer-based jails while awaiting construction of a permanent facility. The first version used four 53-foot tractor trailers connected into a secure structure. A second, more expansive facility consisted of 12 trailers and cost $6.3 million for a two-year lease.

Mayor Quinton Lucas recommended that city officials take a trip to Norwood, Missouri, where the modular units used in Greene County are currently stored by All-Detainment Solutions, a company specializing in prefabricated detention structures.

“These gentlemen are … for lack of a better term, kind of in the FEMA trailer business,” Lucas said. “I think they’re folks that can build quick prefab facilities, adding the amount of security that we might need in connection with it. They seem pretty ready.”

Deputy City Manager Kimiko Black Gilmore said that once utilities like electrical, water, and sewage connections are in place, a modular jail could be up and running in just two to three months. That quick timeline, however, comes with its own urgency.

“I think it’s very quick, so we’re going to have to start doing that right now,” she said, referring to the city’s need to recruit enough corrections officers—potentially doubling or tripling the current 13-member staff.

The city has already identified a potential funding source. Of the $16 million earmarked last year for reopening holding cells at Police Headquarters, only a few million has been spent on design work, according to Finance Director Tammy Queen. That leaves around $14 million available, which could help fund the modular facility in the near term.

Greene County previously paid $900,000 a year for a 108-bed modular jail, providing a rough estimate for Kansas City’s potential costs. But city officials say the benefits may outweigh the expense. Currently, the city contracts with jails in Vernon and Johnson counties to house detainees—an arrangement that is both costly and inconvenient.

Kansas City’s municipal jail closed in 2009, and ever since, individuals charged with misdemeanors have been sent to out-of-county jails, often resulting in early releases due to lack of space.

City Councilman Crispin Rea emphasized the importance of having short-term detention space available ahead of major international events.

“I think we need to have the capacity that we need for the World Cup,” Rea said. “And as voters made very, very clear in the approval of the public safety sales tax, this is an issue that is an immediate concern and a major concern.”

Councilman Wes Rogers, who introduced the resolution, said it earned unanimous support from the council’s finance committee and has backing from local business leaders who are worried about rising crime and public safety.

“As everyone has seen in the news, we have a serious crime problem,” Rogers said. “We don’t have a great short-term solution for a detention facility. And so what this resolution does is gives the city manager 30 days to evaluate a modular jail that we can put together pretty quickly and pretty cost effectively.”

While the new permanent city jail is planned for the site at 7000 E. U.S. Highway 40, Gilmore said that location isn’t viable for the temporary structure, as ongoing construction might interfere. However, the city owns multiple properties where a modular facility could be placed without affecting nearby neighborhoods.

“For example, the tow lot area is a place where we have lots of land and we don’t have as many neighbors,” Lucas said. That parcel includes dozens of acres of city-owned land just east of Riverfront Park.

If all goes according to plan, the temporary jail could be operational well before the new facility opens, allowing Kansas City to keep detainees within city limits and alleviating logistical burdens while reinforcing public safety ahead of global events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Originally reported by Mike hendricks in Yahoo News.