Editor’s note: This article is part 1 of the four-part investigative series Raising Jails, which examines how and why North Carolina counties decide to build bigger jails, the impact of deciding to build and potential policy changes that could lead to different outcomes. Inaccurate projections of a county’s jail needs can also lead counties to build jails they do not need or build jails much larger than necessary, Heiss said. In 2014, Mecklenburg County’s jail was full, and county officials thought they might have to build another jail.