Sullivan Still Seeking Jail Solution
The County Might consider building a combination workhouse and jail
Building a workhouse to ease crowding at Sullivan County’s jail won’t work, jail officials said last week.
The county needs additional space that can accommodate all levels of prisoners, including those who don’t leave for their jobs during the day.
Faced with a jail population that regularly swells well beyond its capacity, county leaders have been trying to find the least expensive solution.
One option was building a workhouse like Greene County’s.
Now, the county might consider building a combination workhouse and regular jail.
The County Commission’s Building Committee discussed that idea last week, and the full commission plans to review it at its regular meeting today.
Sheriff’s Office personnel examined whether prisoners typically kept in the jail would be suitable for a proposed $3.5 million minimum-and medium-security workhouse.
“We’re just making sure that with that many beds over there, we’re going to be able to use it,” said Maj. Brenda Hensley, who oversees the jail. “If you put someone in (a workhouse), they have to go out every day and work. We need a place where we can house people all day long.”
The county jail, which has a capacity for 383 prisoners, usually houses more than 500. It had 563 inmates Thursday.
Melody Gregory, a detention facility specialist with the Tennessee Corrections Institute, said it was wise to study the details before trying to build.
“What they are attempting to do … is to know whether building this is going to benefit them, if they’re going to have enough people of the kind that go into the workhouse,” she said.
Gregory said her office reviews any jail-building plans before final approval. She had heard of the county’s proposal but was not certain it would solve the overcrowding problem.
“If it will work and they can relieve the overcrowding, then I think that it’s great,” she said. “If it’s a situation that’s only going to relieve temporary overcrowding, then I would tell them to look into another situation.
“They could find themselves overcrowded again in a year.”
