VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) - Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace says his county needs a new jail, but county supervisors say that with stagnant tax receipts, they’re unsure how to finance one.
The jail was built in 1907 and added onto in 1977. Pace tells The Vicksburg Post (https://bit.ly/1Y1bGiz) that the jail is inadequate and unsafe. He said there’s no way to segregate misdemeanor and felony prisoners, and thus the jail no longer holds people convicted of misdemeanors. Because the jail is no longer certified by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the county can’t hold state prisoners. In other counties, such prisoners collect garbage and do maintenance work on public buildings.
“This building has long outlived its usefulness to this community,” Pace said.
Richard George, president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, agrees a new jail is needed. But he said the county could have to raise taxes to pay for construction and operation.
“There’s no question we do need a new jail. It’s a matter of when is the economy going to make it the most palatable to finance the effort,” George said.
About six weeks ago the jail had to close two cellblocks for security reasons after locks stopped working. The company that made the locks is out of business, the company that made the lock parts is also out of business and the man that made repairs has died. Other companies are now working to fabricate parts needed to maintain the locking mechanism.
Records show that for at least the past 12 years, grand juries have reported that the county needs a new jail.
The main problem in the outdated jail, Pace said, is the linear cell design. When jailers look through the window of the cell door all they can see is a long hallway with each room lined up on the sides of the hall. A jailer has to walk down those halls to see any of the inmates.
“It’s impossible to adequately monitor inmates in this kind of design,” Pace said.
Pace said modern jails are designed to allow one guard to see every inmate from a central location.
Consultants wrote a report in 2010 on what Warren County needs in a new jail, but George said the recession began biting into county tax revenues. The county’s assessed property values were lower in 2015 than 2010, although they rose in 2016.
Even if the county borrowed money to build a jail and repaid the bonds with taxes, Georgie said he’s worried the operation cost of a larger jail would be higher.
“The economy really and truly needs to be on the upswing when we make that move for the taxpayers’ sake,” he said.
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Information from: The Vicksburg Post, https://www.vicksburgpost.com
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