Build It and They Will Come

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Build It and They Will Come

Bristol Herald Courier – …We have had to deal with overcrowding for so many years. Every jail in Tennessee is like it… If not, they will be – build it, and they will come… Read More

 

Sullivan County, Tenn., sheriff searches for ways to reduce jail population The Sullivan County Correctional Facility is bursting at the seams. The facility was designed to hold around 600 inmates but routinely houses more than 800 inmates at one time. The problem has led Sullivan County Sheriff Wayne Anderson to look at alternative forms of sentencing. He wants to keep the community safe, he said, but at the same time, he is looking at ways to reduce the inmate population. “We have had to deal with overcrowding for so many years,” Anderson said. “Every jail in Tennessee is like it. I don't think you are going to find one that is not overcrowded. If not, , they will be — build it, and they will come." This is not the first time Anderson has addressed overcrowding in the jail. It was just six years ago, in 2006, that the Sheriff's Office completed a $3 million expansion to the jail that increased capacity by 223 inmates. Recently, the discussion has centered on ankle bracelets. These devices are tied to a global positioning system satellite and track an inmate's movements. Under the proposal, an inmate would wear the ankle bracelet and be able to serve time under house arrest. The district attorney general's office and some judges support the proposal, and Anderson has started conversations with the county commissioners about using GPS bracelets. Commissioner Mark Bowery, of Kingsport, brought the idea up at a recent committee meeting, saying he sees alternative sentencing as a way to reduce costs at the jail - "I am trying to further the conversation and make sure we have all the information,” Bowery said. Growth in drug culture Anderson became sheriff in 1998, when the jail population hovered around 300 inmates. Over time, the population has grown. The main
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