The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is continuing to pursue the ongoing problems at the Vance County jail.
Earlier this month, DHHS sent a letter demanding multiple fixes across the jail. The county was expected to cut its inmate population to 20 permanent and 12 temporary inmates and provide a plan to cut down on contraband by April 10. DHHS also ordered two more plans to address hiring and multiple deficiencies in the building — like missing doors, offline security cameras, and holes in cell walls — by Tuesday, April 15.
But another letter issued last Friday added more requirements. DHHS told the county to appoint 20 deputies to support the nine existing jail staff members. This was supposed to go into effect Monday.
Major William Mitchell, the acting jail administrator, told county commissioners that same day that it was impossible.
"It's not something as simple as me just mandating or the sheriff mandating that a deputy come in and work on his days off,” he said. “We're already short deputies."
“We have not recovered since COVID,” Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame added.
Some commissioners asked about hiring deputies or correctional officers from outside the county, but Brame said they’ve already looked into that route.
“I reached out (to other county sheriffs) week before last and asked if their employees would like to work for us part-time on their days off,” he said. “Some of the sheriffs said, ‘No, we're in the same position that you are, lack of staffing in our facilities and our detention centers.’”
Mitchell noted that they’ve hired a new major and some new staff members, but the process and paperwork will still take time.
However, he said they’ve addressed other DHHS requirements. As of Monday, they have cut down the number of inmates from around 180 to about half that. Some have been moved as far as Cherokee County — almost six hours away.
Mitchell also presented their contraband plan at the meeting, which involved pairing correctional officers up to keep them accountable. But in the recent letter, DHHS said the county provided no notice the plan would come late.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, county commissioners approved an overtime pay policy — $50 on top of their $40 off-duty regular hourly rate — that could encourage deputies to work extra hours at the jail.
Vance County officials, including Mitchell and Brame, did not return a request from WUNC on whether the plans, including for contraband, had been submitted.
