Fife closes jail, looks to other cities to house inmates

FIFE, Wash. (AP) — The Pierce County city of Fife is closing its city jail at the end of this year and looking to other cities to house its inmates.

Fife City Manager Subir Mukerjee says the burden of operating the jail, which costs about $1 million a year, is too much for the small city of about 10,000 people.

KOMO-TV reports that dozens of small cities that use the Fife jail for arrests will have to find another lock-up facility, such as the one in Des Moines or the Nisqually Tribal Jail in Thurston County.