WAKE COUNTY — A $20 million referendum for more jail space could prove to be a tough sell.

Bond backers worry that county schools and open space bonds may get more support because they directly benefit more people.

Sheila Fort-Ray, director of Detention Services, says that if the crowding continues at Wake County jails, there could be more fights, more officers hurt or worse.

"We haven't had any outbreaks into the community as other facilities have experienced," she says. "It's not to say that it can't happen to us."

Wake County's detention facilities currently house 840 inmates. Some cell pods have 50 percent more people than they are designed to hold.