As Mecklenburg sheriff looks to move inmates, some NC county jails say they can’t help

A preliminary state report recommends that the Mecklenburg County Jail in uptown Charlotte drastically reduce its inmate population after “significant safety concerns” over staffing shortages were found last month.

The jail has 1,375 inmates, as of Tuesday, and the report suggested the facility get under 1,000 — a nearly 30% cut.

‘No quick fix.’ COVID-stricken Mecklenburg jail has more than half of its jobs open

The Sheriff’s Office, in a statement Monday, said it would work to transfer some inmates to N.C. Department of Public Safety facilities, and to jails in other counties.

Here’s what some sheriff’s offices told the Observer on Tuesday about their ability to take inmates from Mecklenburg County:

Cabarrus County

The Cabarrus County jail has beds available, but it doesn’t have the staff to accommodate Mecklenburg inmates, Chief Deputy James Bailey said.

The jail can house about 400 inmates, and the daily average count for December was 261, Bailey said.

There are 20 to 25 staff members in the facility at any given time, Bailey said. Not all positions are filled, but the jail is manageable with its current number of staff and inmates, he said.

COVID has affected at least eight workers, Bailey said.

“You never know between COVID and staffing how many people you’re going to have,” he said.

As of Tuesday morning, Cabarrus County hasn’t directly been asked to house Mecklenburg inmates, Bailey said. If the Cabarrus Sheriff’s Office was asked, there would be a screening process to determine who would be sent, he said.

“I can’t say ‘No, we would never help,’” Bailey said. “We certainly always want to help any of our local sheriffs house inmates if there’s a need, but we’ve not been asked.”

Union County

Union County isn’t in a position to accept any inmates from Mecklenburg County, sheriff’s spokesman James Maye said.

The jail’s inmate population normally averages 200-250 inmates, Maye said.

There are 264 beds in the Monroe facility, but the number doesn’t accurately reflect the maximum capacity. Some inmates have special classifications such as medical or suicide watch and are housed by themselves, Maye said. This takes two beds out of use, although just one inmate is housed in that cell, he said.

Staffing at the jail varies by shift, Maye said, but he was unable to provide more details.

Rowan County

Staffing issues caused by COVID and open positions are the reason Rowan County is unable to take inmates from Mecklenburg at this time, sheriff’s spokesman Maj. John Sifford said.

As of Monday night, the Rowan County Detention Center had a combined 287 inmates housed in its facilities, he said.

The county has a main detention center, near Salisbury, and an annex facility on Grace Church Road. The total combined capacity is 360, Sifford said.

Gaston County

Gaston County will be taking 10 federal inmates from Mecklenburg, according to Maj. Becky Cauthran, the assistant jail administrator.

The jail’s housing numbers are down, so there’s a “little bit of room” to spare for some of the U.S. Marshals Service inmates, especially since the Sheriff’s Office has a contract with the federal agency, she said.

There are 361 inmates at the county’s main jail, and 119 at its annex, Cauthran said. The jail can house a total of 664 inmates, but the Sheriff’s Office won’t “go anywhere near that number” to maintain social distance, she said.

“With COVID, you always try to be careful of how many you will take,” Cauthran said. “That’s probably going to be the hesitancy of many jails about taking inmates because they want to able to control the new (omicron) variant.”

Other area counties

Lincoln County won’t be able to take in any inmates from Mecklenburg, sheriff’s spokesman Larry Seagle said.

There are currently 124 inmates and 44 employees at the jail, Seagle said. The jail’s capacity is 168, he said.

There are 38 inmates scheduled to be moved from state facilities to the county jail, Seagle said.

Stanly County will not be able to house Mecklenburg inmates because the jail is “understaffed and overcrowded,” Sheriff Jeff Crisco said.

There are more than 150 inmates in the jail, and the facility’s capacity is 131, Crisco said. About 40 to 45 Stanly inmates are being housed at facilities in other counties, he said.

A full staff is 43 to 45 employees, but the jail is currently short five, Crisco said.

Mecklenburg contacted Catawba County on or around Dec. 23, sheriff’s spokesman Aaron Turk said.

Between Dec. 30-31, 15 inmates were transferred, Turk said.

The Catawba jail currently can house 384 inmates, Turk said. An area designated for COVID quarantine utilizes 48 beds, and a staffed medical unit has 32 beds available, he said.

Currently the jail is housing 267 inmates, including the ones from Mecklenburg, Turk said. The jail is not anticipating housing any additional Mecklenburg inmates at this time due to ongoing renovations and the potential need to reserve space for additional quarantine areas, he said.

The facility is staffed with 89 employees, Turk said.

The sheriff’s offices in Iredell and Anson counties did not immediately respond to an Observer request for comment