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| County Must Cut Inmate Population |
| By The News Record |
| Published: 11/07/2005 |
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A North Carolina state jail official has given Guilford County 30 days to find short-term ways to remove inmates from the chronically overcrowded jail in downtown Greensboro. John Harkins told the county commissioners last week that they could transfer some inmates to other counties, jettison federal prisoners, and speed more cases through the court system. The 30-year-old jail has room for 398 inmates but often holds more than 500. “Ultimately,” Harkins said, “the jail could be closed.” Sheriff BJ Barnes, who runs the county's two jails, reminded the board that the state had given the county some leeway on the jail in the past. Concerns about the 30-year-old jail have escalated since the commissioners received the results of a county-ordered jail study last month. The report urged the board to start planning for a new jail now and called the Greensboro facility “dangerous and antiquated” a dire conclusion that law-enforcement officials have wrestled with for years. The county also operates a jail in High Point. In response to Harkins' deadline, commissioners set up a committee of board members, judges and other court officials to study ways to relieve the crowding. The committee will present its recommendations to the commissioners on Nov. 30, just in time to give Harkins a response. Commissioners also asked the sheriff to produce price tags for several population-reduction options, including shipping inmates to other counties and remodeling a building at the Gibsonville prison farm that could potentially house a few dozen inmates. The findings will be presented at tonight's board meeting. Harkins, chief of jails and detention in the state's Health and Human Services Department, told the commissioners that the inmate population could be cut to 420 if they moved all federal inmates out, started an electronic house-arrest program, and placed more inmates in state prisons rather than the county jail, among other suggestions. He acknowledged that he wasn't aware of all the steps that the county was taking to alleviate crowding. Barnes told the commissioners that he'd already explored many of Harkins' suggestions and gave the board his written response. Only a few dozen beds are available in other counties, he said, and housing inmates there would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said the house-arrest program had been unsuccessful elsewhere and would put dangerous criminals on the street. Accelerated court dockets, he added, are already in place to get inmates into court and out of the jail more quickly. Harkins' presentation, which included a letter to county leaders, prompted a biting response from Melvin “Skip” Alston, who has long clashed with Barnes over the jails. Barnes fears that Guilford could end up like other North Carolina counties that were sued by former inmates and eventually ordered to build new jails. Alston, who favors a drug-treatment center over a new jail, calls such talk scare tactics. Alston said Harkins' letter amounted to “intimidation” and “what BJ has been threatening for the past 10 years.” “No,” Barnes replied, “what BJ has been warning for the past 11 years.” |
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I think this was very important to be published. This is because the Jail of Greensboro has become over populated. I love ninjaessays because it is very helpful in essays. I think this is problem because it is very difficult to handle these criminals in jails with the small amount of the guard and police.