No matter where you stand on the issue, the Vance County Detention Center is not an ideal facility, neither for staff nor inmates. Sheriff Curtis Brame has been vocal about the physical condition of the jail, which has racked up numerous deficiencies in recent state inspections.
The Vance County commissioners asked a Raleigh firm to conduct a facilities needs assessment, which County Manager Jordan McMillen is still in the early stages. The county is paying Moseley Architects more than $48,000 to complete the needs assessment.
“It is a comprehensive study,” McMillen told WIZS News via email Tuesday. “I would anticipate some results as we get into the spring” of 2023, but said commissioners may hear an update at the regular meeting in January.
Brame acknowledged that a cell phone video – aired Monday on a Raleigh television station – showed an inmate on the floor, surrounded by several other inmates who were hitting him.
In a brief written response to WIZS News Tuesday, Brame said charges had been filed in connection with the assault, but he provided no further details about the incident.
It is the latest challenge for Brame and county leaders, who seem to be at odds at times over what exactly needs to be done at the jail.
“The county has invested a good bit into the jail the past few years as the sheriff has requested items,” McMillen stated.
In fact, over the past five years, capital expenditures for the jail have increased almost $1 million – from $3.47 in 2018 to $4.34 million.
The 2023 budget is $4.86 million, which includes an extra $400,000 that commissioners approved in October that is designated for providing health care for inmates.
Brame has said he would like to see a new jail facility built for Vance County. Running the jail is the sheriff’s responsibility, and he has called for increased salaries for detentions staff.
According to McMillen, the new part of the jail was built in 1990 and comprises 32,355 square feet of space. The older part of the jail is smaller – about 2,400 square feet – and was also renovated in 1990 when the new portion was constructed.
The entire facility was renovated in 2010.
In addition to the needs of the physical plant are needs to have sufficient staff at the jail. Detention staff was included in a salary study the county put into place in July 2022 that raises hiring rates from $33,432 to $36,433.
“We are in a facility that has long outgrown its needs,” Brame told WIZS News back in August 2022. “Our detention center is antiquated and outdated,” he said, and noted safety issues – for staff and detainees alike – as a result of the condition of the physical plant.
Commissioners received the 9-page report at its August meeting, which detailed everything from non-functioning locks on food passage doors to dirty showers, as well as deficiencies in staff trainings and supervision.
But the overall physical condition of the jail, located at 516 Breckenridge St., looms larger for Brame. “Over 31 years ago the county decided to renovate the detention
center,” he said at the time, adding that the renovations do not meet current standards and needs and he maintains that the jail is unsafe for both staff and detainees.
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