Though nearby jails in the region are struggling to make room for prisoners, Butler County's new 844-bed facility in Hamilton is opening it's doors for out-of-county offenders -- for a price. In 2005, payments generated from housing out-of-county prisoners was nearly $1 million. In 2006, that figure jumped to $4.1 million, and $2.2 million has already been generated this year as of April. Today, Butler County regularly houses 300 prisoners from Hamilton County, and hundreds of prisoners a year from Montgomery County. Currently plans are being finalized to renovate the old jail to allow the facillitating of 140 more prisoners, at a cost of about $800,000 to $1 million, though Sheriff Jones says that the extra space will soon pay for itself.

Middletown City Jail itself has facilities to house 72 inmates for up to a year, at a cost of about $1 million annually. Middletown also houses prisoners from Madison, Lemon, and parts of St. Clair townships, as well as prisoners from Monroe and Trenton. In exchange, Middletown has a standing booking of dozens of beds at the Butler County Jail, free of charge. Judge Mark Wall attributes lower crime rates in Middletown than that in other parts of the country due to potential offenders knowing of the open jail space.