Douglas County is one of the fastest growing counties in Kansas, is dealing with an inexplicable spike in violent crime, can’t count on state government and is responsible for more inmates than it has beds for in its 25-year-old jail.

These factors have created a jail crisis that county residents can fix by approving Proposition 1, which would implement a countywide half-cent sales tax to fund the construction and operation of a $44 million jail expansion and a $12 million Mental Health Crisis Center. Ballots in the special election will be mailed this week and must be returned by noon on May 15.

The Douglas County Jail has 186 beds. The expansion would double capacity. Since June 2015, the number of inmates in the jail has exceeded capacity. For three years, the average daily population has been between 225 and 250 inmates, and there is no sign that will change anytime soon. The county can’t properly segregate its jail population, and it spends millions to house inmates in other county jails.

Ironically, the jail population has increased more than 65 percent since 2013, even though overall arrests are down 11 percent. How can that be?

First, the state passed a law in 2014 increasing the definition of a speedy trial from 90 days to 150 days. The law bought judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys extra time to prepare for trial but also ensured defendants would spend more time awaiting trial. Indeed, the average stay for a Douglas County inmate more than doubled, going from 7.6 days in 2013 to 15.3 in 2016.

Second, the number of violent felonies — murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — in Douglas County has increased more than 30 percent the past three years. Violent crimes require higher bonds and take longer to prosecute, thus ensuring that defendants in those crimes spend more time in jail.

Third, the state of Kansas has done a miserable job of adequately funding its prison and mental health facilities. The state’s prisons are chronically understaffed and overcrowded; its state hospitals in Osawatomie and Larned have struggled with certification. These factors put downward pressure on counties to accommodate more inmates for longer periods of time.

Critics argue that the county should be more aggressive in offering alternatives to incarceration. They point out that the judicial system treats minorities unfairly and that expanding the jail will only exacerbate that problem. And they argue that the jail and mental health crisis center should be separate issues, instead of being combined into a single ballot.

They’re right. Douglas County must continue to be aggressive in advocating for alternatives to incarceration, and a top priority should be addressing the disproportionate ratio of black inmates in the county jail compared with the county’s black population.

But the fact remains , despite a per capita incarceration rate well below state and national averages, Douglas County has more inmates than its outdated jail can accommodate, and the problem isn’t going away. The county needs a larger jail. The county will benefit greatly from the new mental health crisis center. Vote yes on Proposition 1.