HOUSTON -- The Harris County Sheriff’s Department says some of the inmates in the Harris County Jail need to go.

“We’re very close to our capacity,” Capt. John Martin said.

Currently, there are more than 11,000 inmates in the Harris County Jail.

Officials say that number will rise as fast as the mercury this summer.

It’s a predicament that has them looking out of state.

“We’re looking at facilities in Louisiana. They are cheaper than what we can find in Texas, and they have enough bed space available to make it worth our while,” Martin said.

But that has some inmates’ families concerned.

When Polly Lamza wants to visit her incarcerated loved one, she just hops on a Metro bus.

But if her loved one was moved, she’d be in trouble.

“I don’t have a vehicle. I wouldn’t be able to go,” she said.

Others are just concerned about the living conditions.

Jail visitor Eddie Broussard said he doesn’t mind the longer trip to see the inmates, as long as it makes them more comfortable.

There are already 600 Harris County inmates at the West Carroll Detention Facility in Epps, Louisiana.

Each inmate there costs the county about $38 a day.

The sheriff’s office is asking the county for $1.2 million to move an additional 130 inmates to the facility.

“It’s important to point out there are offsets in the reductions to overtime. We may be able to reduce the amount of overtime our employees have to work in jail to keep that ratio 48 to one,” Martin said.