Tag Archive for: #vancecountyjail

Short Term, Depopulate; Long Term, What Does Architect Firm Think

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At a Vance County Board of Commissioners special called meeting Monday afternoon at 4 o’clock, a motion was voted on and passed 4 to 2 in favor of moving forward with an existing request for quote (RFQ) between the county and Mosley Architects for work at the existing jail as well as building a new jail.

Commissioner Tommy Hester made the motion, and it was seconded by Commissioner Leo Kelly.

The main idea appears to be to get an updated quote and find out the architect’s recommendation.

Sheriff Curtis Brame and Major William Mitchell spoke to commissioners at the regular monthly meeting a week ago, February 3, and emphasized the need to reach some decision about addressing the needs of the jail and to develop a plan of action.

The vote now will show state officials some progress here in Vance County, and it does put a plan of action into motion.

Following its most recent inspection in December, inspectors extended until February 21 the deadline for Brame and staff to address 88 deficiencies outlined in the inspection report.  Mitchell indicated the commissioners’ decision would be helpful.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt said some officials in Granville County continue to be receptive to a regional facility and that it could be done, perhaps for less than $45 million. Brummitt spoke of a larger jail and voiced his opinion that a regional facility makes sense in the long run.

He and commissioner Valencia Perry voted against the motion.

Hester said he didn’t think four or five counties would work and said, “We’ve got to do what we have to do for the folks in Vance County and move forward. Hire the architect and move forward right now.”

Board chairperson Carolyn Faines indicated Vance County had been “back and forth with Granville County about the regional concept,” and she said she didn’t think it was going to work. She said she thought Granville would have given Vance a yes by now.

Major Mitchell voiced in the special meeting a scenario that would cut down or perhaps reduce or eliminate the need to spend money on the current facility.

Mitchell talked about keeping 20 detainees in house here at The Vance County jail and housing 80 at other facilities.

An open dorm and holding cell here would allow those arrested here locally to still be detained immediately before being moved to another holding location.

Mitchell said he had spoken with the chief jail inspector for the State of North Carolina, Chris Wood, and it is likely that the state would sign off on that scenario.

In an example, Mitchell used what he called a safe figure annually of $2.5 million to house detainees out of the county. He cited the 2024 jail budget of $4.9 million and said that the county could conceivably have a cost savings while doing a remodeling or rebuilding of the jail.

Through memorandums of understanding with the out-of-county facilities, the example figure of $70 per detainee would include meals, bedding and incidentals. If so, Vance County would be responsible for transportation and outside medical, specifically hospitalization, for example.

Additionally, there are so many unfilled positions right now within the jail that the lapsed salaries and the “money savings” from the lapsed salaries would help cover some of these expenses.

Hester said Vance County is in a position now that it has to move forward.  He spoke of planning and construction of a new jail taking three to four years to complete and $50 million. County Manager Renee Perry could be heard agreeing with Hester’s remarks.

Mitchell indicated actions were already underway to depopulate the jail.

Commissioner Perry cited concerns with this same group of detainees being taken elsewhere and possibly being brought back again for misconduct. It has happened before. She said these same detainees continue to be so disruptive and indicated that she could not see how this proposal would be different.

Using Mitchell’s estimate of $70 per day per detainee figure from last week’s regular meeting, he reminded the board at the special called meeting that $511,000 is saved annually for every 20 detainees removed who do not have to be held somewhere else.

Sheriff Brame said that he was planning to speak with 22 sheriffs Tuesday, February 11 about the continued need to depopulate the Vance County Jail.

Mitchell also disclosed in the special called meeting that the district attorney had arranged special sessions of court where attorneys could discuss a case with the detainee, then appear before a judge.

Apparently, the judges are on board, and the district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office are working together with over 40-some cases already worked on towards either a bond for the detainee, time served or removal to the Department of Adult Corrections.

Part of the delay in moving detainees out, according to what Mitchell said, is attorneys have not wanted to go to the jail to see clients and the space for attorney/client meetings at the jail is inhospitable, lacking even an electrical outlet to power a laptop computer that may develop a dead battery after an hour or so.

To combat that impediment, Brame and staff have, in the last 30 days, been bringing detainees to the sheriff’s office so they can meet with their attorneys.

TownTalk: Commissioners Will Continue Jail Discussion At Special Called Meeting Feb. 10 At 4 P.M.

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting on Monday, Feb. 10 to focus on short-term and long-term steps concerning conditions at the county detention center.

Sheriff Curtis Brame and Maj. William Mitchell spoke to commissioners at their regular monthly meeting Monday night and emphasized the need to reach some decision about addressing the needs at the jail and to develop a plan of action.

After a lengthy discussion of needs – ranging from repairs to extra space to how and where to house current detainees while repairs are taking place, Board Chair Carolyn Faines said she’d like to schedule a special called meeting to focus on next steps for the jail. That special called meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in the commissioners’ meeting room, according to information received Tuesday morning from County Manager C. Renee Perry.

Following its most recent inspection in December, state inspectors have extended until Feb. 21 the deadline for Brame and staff to address 88 deficiencies outlined in the inspection report.

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“We have a serious problem at our detention center,” Brame told commissioners.

Mitchell said he’s been working on the jail situation for just the past two weeks, and implored commissioners to “pic a direction that we’re going to go in – sooner rather than later.”

Brame and Mitchell said they’ve been in contact with District Attorney Mike Waters, and are developing a plan that targets the “depopulation” of about 20 detainees over the next few weeks.

The idea is to identify low-level offenders currently in jail and either get their bonds reduced or get a plea entered and get them out of jail.

Monday’s census was 161 detainees – 20 or 22 over capacity.

Whether the county decides to make costly repairs to the 50+ year old jail or to build a new one, Mitchell said there’s no two ways about it: “We’re going to have to empty the facility.”

That will mean making arrangements with nearby jails who are willing to house the detainees – for a price. Mitchell said he believes it’ll cost roughly about $70 per detainee per day, but Vance County would still be responsible for all associated costs – from bed frames to canteen items.

“The more we can get out through adjudication,” he said, “it’ll be cheaper on the citizens of Vance County.”

With figures of $5 million for repairs to $40 million-plus for a new jail, commissioners have a lot to think about.

Repairs do not include any expansion of the current facility, and building a new jail could take several years, in County Manager C. Renee Perry’s estimation.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt said the county can’t afford to house inmates elsewhere for five years while a new jail is being built. “We’ve got to make repairs now,” he said.

Perry suggested that the county re-engage with Moseley Architects, a Raleigh firm that has worked with the county in 2022 to provide estimates.

The Local Skinny! Vance County Jail Update

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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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TownTalk: Sheriff Brame Discusses Detention Center With County Commissioners

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As Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame sees it, this county needs a new jail, no two ways about it. He’s said it before and he said it again during an April 15 commissioners’ work session, during which commissioners reviewed several options from an architect’s needs assessment and received an update on current conditions from the sheriff.

Commissioners agree that something needs to be done, but as the old saying goes, “All it takes is time and money.”

Replacing the jail comes with a $42 million price tag, according to the assessment by Moseley Architects. An expansion would cost north of $31 million and repairing the existing facility would cost more than $5.2 million, according to the architect’s report. Board Chair Dan Brummitt speculated that even if the board decided now to build a new jail, it would be between five and eight years before the first detainee would be housed there.

There are no easy answers to the challenges that face the aging jail, but Brame said he’s worried about the lack of basic safety measures being in place – for detainees and for staff.

He said the jail has 20 staff openings right now, and that overnight staffing is sparse at best. Hiring is difficult, he said, partly because of the salary offered and partly because of the jail conditions.

“Pay does help,” Brame told commissioners. “We do need an increase in pay. But they will not come because they feel unsafe … those inmates could take over the facility any time they want to.”

The county recently spent half a million dollars to replace security doors at the jail, but Brummitt said they were not installed properly and the Georgia company that installed them has not returned to finish the job to the county’s satisfaction.

County Manager C. Renee Perry said she would look at the terms of the contract to determine if the county has any recourse in the matter.

There are other more routine maintenance issues that need attention, and the jail does have an employee who handles them, but other issues like replacing light fixtures and moving outlets away from inmates’ reach are things that require an electrician.

And tradespeople don’t want to do the work because it’s unsafe.

“We have an unsafe facility down there,” Brame said, “from the doors, to how it’s designed, to staffing.”

Commissioner Sean Alston said there are federal grants to apply for help with paying for a new jail and he is hopeful that recent talks with Don Davis and others are going to pay dividends in that area.

Perry said she had submitted to Davis two capital projects for funding consideration – the jail and a new EMS building.

It all comes down to safety, Brame said. “We’ve got a lot of dangerous people in our facility,” 40 in jail for murder. Between June 2021 and July 2022, there were 26 major incidents that occurred in the jail, including death, rape and assault.

From 2019 to 2024, Brame said there were 636 incidents at the jail that came in to 911 – from the jail. “Ninety percent of our people are violent offenders,” Brame said.

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TownTalk: Commissioners Debate Medical Co-Pay For Detainees

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners is considering putting a health copay in place for individuals detained in the Vance County Detention Center.

Finance Director Katherine Bigelow shared information with commissioners during their Monday, Nov. 20 work session.

Board Chair Yolanda Feimster sent the matter to the Public Safety Committee for further discussion and to work through details about how such a policy would work.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt was the sole member of the Public Safety Committee present at the work session; commissioners Sean Alston and Carolyn Faines were not present for the meeting.

Bigelow said she had spoken with officials in more than 25 counties as part of her research; “we are the only ones that do not do this,” she told commissioners.

Bigelow and County Manager Renee Perry said it would help curb costs for detainees who may make unnecessary trips to the health care provider – racking up a hefty fee for the county each time.

This would encourage inmates to take responsibility of their own health care, they noted. The basic idea is that the inmate may decide to lie down and rest instead of going to the infirmary to get pills for a headache, Perry said.

If the health care provider determines that the visit was not a medical necessity, the individual would be charged a copay; $20 is the allowable limit that can be charged.

“We will not make money on this by any means,” Bigelow noted, adding that $395,000 of the $550,000 budgeted for health care at the jail has already been spent.

In a follow-up statement to WIZS News, Perry said the jail is on track to have an overage of as much as $1 million by the end of fiscal year 2024 if no measures are taken to curb the spending.

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TownTalk: Jail To Close For Repairs

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The 50-plus inmates of the Vance County Detention Center could find themselves in a different jail soon – at least temporarily – while contractors replace old doors to provide better security.

The Vance County Commissioners approved spending up to $90,000 to pay for the inmates’ stays at other facilities, but there’s one condition: Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame must get, in writing, confirmation from the contractor that the work can and will be done within a 30-day period.

During that 30-day window, the jail would be closed as far as housing inmates is concerned. Closing a jail sounds like a severe measure, but it is what needs to happen for  the repairs and installations to be completed.

Brame and longtime sheriff’s office employee Weldon Bullock were at the commissioners’ meeting Monday to make the request. They shared details of yet another example of unsafe conditions at the jail – an inmate lay unconscious for at least five minutes after being attacked in a fight over the weekend.

He was transported to Duke University Hospital and had surgery for a broken eye socket, Bullock reported during his remarks to the commissioners. He also stated that the doors are broken and can’t be secured properly. But physical conditions aside, Bullock said what really bothered him was that the inmate could have died. “The guy could have laid there and died – I don’t want somebody to get killed because we can’t lock the doors.”

The new doors have been purchased and are ready to be installed, to the tune of about $400,000. Once the sheriff gets written confirmation from the contractor that the work can be done within a 30-day period, the plan can proceed.

As chief law enforcement officer in the county, the sheriff is responsible for the hiring and firing of employees within the sheriff’s office, but salaries and other capital expenses are the responsibility of the county commissioners.

Brame has long said that the county needs a new jail and more staff to adequately cover the jail. The facility has gotten deficiencies on state inspection reports for various problems, from broken doors to non-functioning cameras and peeling paint.

A comprehensive feasibility study was initiated last year to evaluate the jail and to help county leaders decide whether to repair or replace the 30-year-old structure.

The Vance County Jail will close for thirty days to replace doors.

 

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The Local Skinny! Vance County Jail

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The Vance County commissioners continue to move forward to address issues with the county detention center, and at their meeting Monday chose a Raleigh architectural firm to complete a needs assessment and make recommendations and suggestions about whether to repair or replace.

Moseley Architects worked with Granville County to build its newly completed jail complex, and County Manager Jordan McMillen told WIZS News Thursday that county leaders are hopeful that the needs assessment will provide some options for next steps.

The 30-year-old jail has had some deficiencies in previous jail inspections, from damaged ceiling tiles to peeling paint and other areas that need repair or maintenance. But McMillen said options range from construction of a new jail to an upgrade and expansion of the current facility or even embracing the concept of “regionalization with a neighboring county.”

Commissioner Dan Brummitt told WIZS News Thursday that the concept of jail regionalization is a growing trend, loosely defined as a way for counties to pool resources, allowing for inmates and suspects to be housed in a central facility instead of county jails.

But jails need a full roster of county detention officers to operate effectively, and the Human Resources Committee identified the position of detention officer as one of several hard-to-fill positions.

The commissioners approved giving a $5,000 hiring bonus for new detention officers, as well as social workers who work with child protective services at the Department of Social Services.

Commissioners Carolyn Faines, Archie Taylor and Gordon Wilder comprise the HR committee, and they reviewed turnover data and length of vacancies to identify the top three positions, McMillen said.

In other business, the commissioners finalized the sale of the former DSS building to the Henderson Family YMCA.

“This will pave the way for the YMCA to use this property for their programming needs as they look to the future,” McMillen said. The 9,684 square foot building sits on 2.46 acres at 350 Ruin Creek Rd.

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