Officials in Macomb County are asking the state to make some changes to help them solve an overcrowding problem at the county's jail.

Sheriff Mark Hackel is lobbying state legislatures to change a law to allow for three inmates in each jail cell and increase the use of common areas for bunking inmates, The Macomb Daily reported.

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Archive: See Video Of Macomb Jail Attack

The existing law permits two inmates in a cell and provides a minimum amount of square footage of common area per inmate, according to the paper.

"We're looking at every angle we can to create more space," Hackel told the paper.

The sheriff has invited state lawmakers to visit the Macomb County Jail in hopes they'll be convinced that the law would not infringe on inmates' rights, the paper reported.

The jail has reportedly exceeded its capacity of 1,438 inmates many times since early 2003. Jail keepers have been forced to release more than 100 inmates early, and judges have implemented a variety of alternative sentencing, such as tether and treatment programs, according to the paper.

Three officers at the jail were injured when a prisoner attacked a female guard in November 2003, Local 4 reported. Hackel said the attack may have partly been the result of overcrowding.

The guard was reportedly letting three prisoners out of a crowded holding cell to go to court when a fourth man stepped out, too.

The woman led the man back into the cell, but when she turned her back to him and entered a doorway, he slipped in behind her and knocked her over with full force, according to police.

A committee of county justice system officials has met in recent months to come up with an expansion plan, but the new space most likely wouldn't be available for at least three years, the paper reported.