Six months into his new job, Maj. Johnny Hawkins provided an update to Vance County commissioners at their Nov. 4 meeting about the staff, programs and physical plant of the county’s detention center.

Hawkins began working at the jail in April, and retired with 30 years of service with the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections – two of those years were spent as chief of the Durham County Detention Center.

Hawkins said, “Some of the things that I want us to accomplish with this conversation tonight is the desire to rebrand the image of the Vance County Detention Center and the professionals that work there.”

On a daily basis, the jail exceeds its capacity of inmates and employs just half – 41 out of 82 – of the positions available.

He spoke of the seven percent pay increase and thanked the commissioners and said, “but we must do more.” He cited the example that two staff members were on night watch the evening of the meeting and said in reality two people were overseeing 190 inmates – 37 of whom are in jail on murder charges.

“I have done enough research to understand that the elephant in the room is certainly,” Hawkins said, “the desire and the need for a new detention center.”

Gradual improvements he has seen at the existing jail don’t change the fact that the facility faces continued staff shortages and outdated equipment – not to mention difficulty getting the outside vendors to complete services because they fear for their safety, he said.

And while a decent chunk of this information has been fairly well documented, what’s new in the story is the presentation Hawkins made about both improvements and desired improvements in the form of equipment, systems, policies and use of a comprehensive approach to how the jail functions.

“We’re trying to upgrade our security profile and systems … the geo management system or the round tracking system. What that does is allow us to be more efficient at our obligations with our two rounds every hour,” Hawkins said.

In addition, upgrades to surveillance and the access control system are needed to cut down on contraband and upgrades need to be made to fire and exhaust systems. Then there’s the perimeter security system and the data management system, the latter of which Hawkins said “will help us with training, help us develop policies, help us with personnel oversight and information so that we can have better processes in place so that we can effectively manage not only our personnel, our resources, but also update our policy so that staff can have direct access.”

Hawkins is looking at having a social worker, a peer support specialist, an additional maintenance technician, religious services program, vocational training – and a classroom space to hold the religious and vocational meetings.  And psychological services and community engagement programs may be on the horizon.

He thanked the commissioners again and asked them to do more.  The implication being that to rebrand it was going to require more.

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