Jail overcrowding problems not going away

A Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office official expressed interest this week that when the new Greene County jail opens in January, they would like to use the new facility to help alleviate inmate overcrowding issues at the Lenoir County jail.

Maj. Chris Hill of Lenoir County Sheriffs’ Office said Lenoir County inmates have been taken to Pamlico and Sampson Counties as well as Wilmington during the past year to help resolve the county’s jail inmate overcrowding problems.

The cost to house these inmates can be up to $55 per day for each inmate, Hill said. If space becomes available at the new Greene County Jail next year, Hill said Lenoir will likely work to send some inmates to the new jail facility in Greene.

“I do see a partnership with them,” Hill said. “It wouldn’t be that far for us to transport inmates.”

Greene’s new jail expansion is about 50 percent complete and is scheduled to be handed over to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office in November for its use. It may take a few weeks for the new facility to be ready to house inmates after the handover date.

Greene County Manager Don Davenport said the new jail will have the capacity to house up to 90 inmates. The county’s current jail capacity at the top of the courthouse at Snow Hill is about 25 inmates.

“We would be interested in working with other counties who have overcrowding issues to bring their inmates to Greene County,” Davenport said this week.

Lenoir County’s average daily jail inmate population reached a high of 212 inmates in November 2009, which included inmates held at the two jail sites at the county courthouse site, those kept in other jails outside the county and inmates on house arrest or in safe-keeping for medical reasons.

Lenoir County officials hope to solve the county’s inmate overcrowding issue by approving the final jail expansion design plan in the coming weeks before bids for the project are sent out in June.

Lenoir County Manager Mike Jarman said this week that Brennan and Associates is working to complete the final design for the jail expansion and the estimated cost for the new jail’s construction could be up to $20 million.

Once bids for the project are returned, the Lenoir County commissioners will decide how to proceed.

According to Hill, the jail expansion is much needed while construction costs remain lower than usual due to the nation’s economic recovery. It’s been nearly 30 years since Lenoir County expanded its jail inmate capacity.

The jail at the courthouse’s fourth floor was built in the 1940s and can house about 40 inmates while the second jail site in the basement of the courthouse was built in 1982 and can hold about 80 inmates.

Hill said during the past three years, renovations were completed on the main jail at the basement to switch each jail cell’s sliding hinge doors with doors that swing on a hinge. During the early 1990s the older jail on the fourth jail was renovated to meet state standards.

“The doors were worn out and it became a safety issue,” Hill said. “It was costing us a lot to repair the sliding doors.”

Lenoir County Sheriff officials and several commissioners have pushed for months to move forward with jail expansion for the county. Officials said once the bids for the project are returned, they will have a clearer picture on how much the project will cost. The jail expansion site will be behind the courthouse, according to blueprints.

“We will decide what direction to go later this year,” Jarman said. “If the commissioners vote to proceed, it’s going to take between 18 and 20 months to build the new jail.”

Chris Lavender can be reached at 252-559-1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.