Sheriff: No guards, no opening for jail : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

GREENSBORO — If the Guilford County Board of Commissioners won’t approve the money for more guards at the new jail, Sheriff BJ Barnes said Tuesday that he may not be able to open the jail at all.

“If we don’t get the resources we need, then my first obligation has to be to the safety of my officers,” Barnes said at a news conference held at his downtown office. “I have to protect my officers, and I have to protect my prisoners.”

The sheriff said he would consider it irresponsible to open the jail if he can’t spend about $5 million to staff it properly. That means making necessary improvements over the current jail, which is crowded, understaffed and dangerous, Barnes said.

“One thing the commissioners tend to forget is that I’m an elected official also,” Barnes said. “Malfeasance is not in my dictionary, and I’m going to do my job.”

The comments came after several commissioners, looking to avoid a property tax increase as they prepare a county budget, said they could not justify the 166 new hires Barnes wants to help run the new 1,032 bed jail.

Barnes said the jail, which was paid for with more than $100 million in voter-approved bond debt, could be ready to open as soon as December, but the commissioners have put off letting him hire and train new detention officers for the past two years.

Barnes submitted a revised series of plans to open the jail with as few as 91 new hires, but County Manager Brenda Jones Fox suggested only 78 new guards in her budget recommendation to the commissioners.

A number of commissioners said even that number is too high.

“We are in tough budget times, and we are looking to cut everywhere,” said commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston. “There are no sacred cows or sacred departments.”

Alston said he’s seen no compelling evidence that Barnes actually needs more guards at the new jail to handle what will be the same number of prisoners.

For proof of that, Barnes said, you need only look at the four reports from the current jail that he gets every 24-hour period.

Tuesday’s reports included:

An inmate attempting suicide by bashing his head against his cell while flooding it with water.
An inmate found sleeping inside a hole he cut in his own mattress, an overpowering stench greeting the guards who retrieved him from it. It is the fourth mattress he has destroyed.
Two inmates in a fight that had to be broken up by guards.
An inmate who must be kept under armed guard in the crowded infirmary.

“That’s a normal day in the life of a detention officer in Guilford County,” Barnes said.

That’s why there are actually fewer guards this year — 23 lost to resignation and one to termination, according to Barnes. He said the stress of doing the job in the currently understaffed and crowded jail is bad for his guards and bad for prisoners. His staff describes fecal matter smeared on walls, electric lights pulled out of solid concrete slabs by prisoners on drugs, and violence that can explode at any moment.

“We’re dealing with prisoners who have mental health problems, drug problems, anger and violence problems and we don’t have the people or the programs to deal with them,” Barnes said. “We don’t want to open the new jail in the same condition and do that all over again.”

Barnes said the new jail wasn’t built to replace the old one but to improve it. Beyond holding more inmates, it also will be a “direct supervision” jail in which more guards are on hand to observe the prisoners, allowing them to get into the recreation yard for exercise and attend programs to help with mental and drug problems.

Alston said the county should be funding such programs before those who need them wind up in jail — including jail alternatives and more public health options.

In the meantime, given the county’s current economic problems, Alston said the sheriff can either open the new jail and transfer the prisoners there with the number of guards he has or choose not to open the new jail until the county can afford it.

“Right now, I don’t think anyone is going to support raising taxes so we can open this jail with the kind of staff and programs he thinks it needs,” Alston said.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com

retiree

May 25, 2011 - 4:40 am EDT

The Sheriff is right on this one and as usual Skip supports his position with a threatened tax increase. Skip can see the staffing is under what they need due to handling more prisoners, but he wants to use this as a foil so he can say the Sheriff forced them to increase taxes. Thankfully, the citizens who vote for Sheriff can see through Skip's twisted logic and will vote Barnes in again.

Panacea

May 25, 2011 - 1:07 pm EDT

retiree, you and I don't agree on much: but we agree 110% on this. You have hit the nail on the head: Skip is playing politics with the jail. Shame on him.

Pam

May 25, 2011 - 4:00 pm EDT

Maybe Skip & the other commissioners should spend a weekend at the jail & see how they like the conditions.

buzzman

May 25, 2011 - 4:16 pm EDT

I agree that Sheriff Barnes is accurate about the staffing needed for the jail. Those of you who disagree just ask yourself why would the Sheriff ask for more than he needs? If you've paid attention, he's always been a straight shooter and why do you think he continues to be re-elected? Citizens of Guilford County know that they can depend on Sheriff Barnes to run his department efficiently and get the job done correctly. The situation at the current jail is horrible for everyone. Why continue down that same road?
Seems like it was mandated that Guilford County HAD to build a new jail because the old one didn't meet standards, so no need to comment that we didn't need it!
Skip is just playing his usual game of being Skip. Which commissioners are skeptical of the Sheriff's request? I suspect that it's only 3 or 4.

Jarrow

May 25, 2011 - 7:04 am EDT

Either transfer the guards from the old to the new without increasing the staff in any way, or simply don't open the new jail at all. If the new jail is all it's said to be, it will be safer and more efficient than the old jail. With the same number of prisoners, the argument for expansion of staff positions is not publicly proven yet. Bottom line for now is not to raise taxes this year or in the foreseeable future.

Theo

May 25, 2011 - 9:27 pm EDT

Really! I'm part of the producer class and I hate taxes. Your statement lacks substance and research.

copper1

May 25, 2011 - 8:26 am EDT

Wait just a minute, this new jail was to be state of the art. The Pod design was to be that one guard could watch over more inmates then the old jail. Now, we hear we need more guards to handle the same amount of inmates as before. It's hard to believe that with all the jail technology we spend 120 million dollars on an old design.....but then again it's government.

May 25, 2011 - 9:28 pm EDT

Another statement lacking in intelligence and substance!

rooster8786

May 25, 2011 - 8:29 am EDT

If you don't play by my rules, I'll take my jail and go home. Just ANOTHER example of political posturing at the expense of the citizens and TAXPAYERS!!!! Play nice boys!!!

Mr. JMS

May 25, 2011 - 9:03 am EDT

That "political posturing" works two ways. Alston is saying to the citizens, OK if you want the new jail opened, then we'll have to raise taxes.

This is not posturing for Barnes. He has been telling voters what his needs are for years.

brian444

May 25, 2011 - 8:30 am EDT

Stories about bad behavior in jail aren't evidence of the need for 70-120 new guards. People in jails (new and old) tend to behave badly. If it's the same number of prisoners, what's BJ's argument?

BJ got his Cadillac jail and now he wants a Cadillac staff; the problem is that these are Hyundai times.

May 25, 2011 - 1:11 pm EDT

Here's a better analogy: The courts have demanded a Honda jail but times went Hyundai. But we've always had a GEO Metro for both jail and correctional officers.

Those are just a sample of what goes on in jail every day. I guarnatee you the COs write more than 4 incident reports per day.

It's a miracle the suicide attempt wasn't successful. It probably took 5 or six officers to break up the fight, and it's an additional miracle no one was hurt.

BJ has been saying he's been understaffed for years . . . that it is the same number of prisoners does not weaken the need or his argument for more staff.

Also: he's had to replace 24 people this year alone. Thats really high turnover. Each of those people costs thousands to train, and thousands to replace. If the working conditions were improved with staffing to make things safer, then turnover will go down and those costs will go away.

donniedt

May 25, 2011 - 9:27 am EDT

Alston said the county should be funding such programs before those who need them wind up in jail — including jail alternatives and more public health options.
The people that need these programs won't utilize them, and they don't deter anyone from a life of crime anyway.

Voice of Reason

May 25, 2011 - 9:34 am EDT

Well said.

Bosco

May 25, 2011 - 9:29 am EDT

BJ should change his name to BS

May 25, 2011 - 9:32 am EDT

Ignorance is bliss, isn't it? The jail was built to allow more prisoners to be held. Since the present jail is already terribly understaffed, adding more prisoners without adding more guards is not only dangerous, its negligent. Citizens complain about crime, but the problem is not that criminals aren't being caught- its that they aren't being held in jail. Bonds in Guildford County are lower than everywhere around us because the magistrates know there is not room for anybody upstairs. Criminals are released to make room for new ones, and it allows the newly released criminals to go off and commit more crimes. And they do. The idea of repeat offenders and career criminals is a real one.

Funding new guards is just a smart move all around. Few people realize that at certain times the wait at the jail for the intake officers after the prisoner has been before the magistrate can be more than an hour. That's an hour where a police officer or deputy is sitting and waiting that he or she could be out on the street protecting the public, and its a direct result of a lack of guards. And if we raise bonds so criminals are unable to hit the streets again after being arrested, it will help lower crime. Repeat offenders cause the bulk of crimes officers deal with daily, so if the bad guys are locked up it makes everyone safer.

radar

May 25, 2011 - 11:44 am EDT

Well said Voice!

May 25, 2011 - 1:06 pm EDT

No where did I read "terribly understaffed or negligent" what was written was BJ wants is another $5 million dollars.

May 25, 2011 - 1:14 pm EDT

The word Sheriff Barnes used was "Malfeasance." Look it up.

kaye

May 25, 2011 - 11:41 am EDT

They shouldn't have built this jail in the 1st place. they should have updated what they had and sent the inmates with mental problems to another place for help. No we should not put another penny in this project to house more prisoners. There are so many other great programs that could have used that money to educate and better the lives of our citizens young and old.

May 25, 2011 - 1:17 pm EDT

*sigh*

Kaye, we were under a court order to improve jail conditions. If we (Guilford County) did not, we'd get hit with daily fines that would far exceed the cost of a new jail and more staff over time, and attract unwanted attention from the state. We would be more vulnerable to inmate lawsuits under the 8th Amendment (California is being forced to release prisoners or transfer them to county jails after the SCOTUS just ruled against them in a similar issue of overcrowding and safety).

We had NO choice but to build the new jail. But we can't just build our way out of the problem. If we don't staff the jail properly so safety is improved, then we still haven't met the requirements of the court order and can still be fined.

Skip has conveniently forgotten this little fact.

MeMyselfandI

May 25, 2011 - 11:02 pm EDT

Sheriff Barnes does not have the authority to send inmates to mental health facilities without a court order. If the courts or magistrates order people sent to jail, Sheriff Barnes is obligated by law to house them in the jail. If the court system orders them released, then Sheriff Barnes is obligated to release them. He cannot decide not to house people.

The population in this area is growing as is the inmate population. The population in Guilford County has increased about 50% since the 80's when the old jail was originally built. It is a federal law that dictates how much space must be alloted for each inmate. More inmates mean that more space is needed.

Dman94

May 25, 2011 - 12:09 pm EDT

Let us look at this; a $100 million plus jail, with voter-approved bond debt. Now there would need to be a property tax increase to add the new sheriff's department personnel to facilitate the jail. Is anyone thinking about the property tax increase that is coming to pay for this $100 million plus jail? Before all is said and done, Guilford County taxpayers will be paying probably 90 cents on the $100 for property tax! Are those that are in support of adding these additional county employee's ready to pay anywhere near that kind of taxation?!

I will not even comming on Uncle Skip! Nothing needs to be said there!

It actually appears that deal ole BJ (Barney Fife) Barnes is holding the county taxpayers hostage by coming along now at this time with his comments! Everyone knows that we are still in the throes of the Great Recession. With that in mind, no programs/employee's need to be viewed as "sacred cows!" And please do not even begin by noting that employee's need a raise! Living on a fixed income, I have not had a raise in over 2 years, so no government (local, stated, federal) employee should be any better than I do make do with what that get!

May 25, 2011 - 1:21 pm EDT

Barnes has been honest and upfront with voters for years about his needs for the new jail. His requests were not unexpected by the County Commissioners who for TWO YEARS have ignored and failed to budget for the new jail.

Yes, the jail has to be paid for, and that probably means a tax increase. Since the County Commissioners lack the 'nads to raise the sales tax on their own, and voters rejected it, that means a property tax.

No one is talking about raises in this article: though county and state employees have not had one in three years and many of them make less than you do in all likelihood. This issue is about law enforcement, taxes, and good leadership . . . not civil service employees.

May 25, 2011 - 11:04 pm EDT

@Panacea Agreed!!!

citywatcher

May 25, 2011 - 12:50 pm EDT

I was against building the new jail from the start. It was just the wrong time to be building something like that. So what if the old jail was a little over crowded. I think they should make it as Inconvenient as possible for inmates. pack em like sardines.

May 25, 2011 - 1:23 pm EDT

How ignorant.

You should take a tour of the jail and see what the conditions are like for yourself.

Crowded conditions do NOTHING to convince inmates not to come back. NOTHING.

Crowded conditions raise tensions and spark violence, violence that often is directed towards corrections staff and collateral damage to bystanding inmates who were not involved in the initial dispute.

See my comments to kaye above on the court order to build the new jail.

timflowers

May 25, 2011 - 2:07 pm EDT

It's a jail for people who have been charged with a crime and are awaiting a trial. Many will be found innocent. It's not a prison. Your mom could be falsely accused and sent there. Would you want her packed in like sardines?

May 25, 2011 - 2:04 pm EDT

The new jail needs to open as soon as possible, with adequate staffing. The old jail is crowded and dangerous and reform has already been demanded by the Justice Dept.

Remember that many of the inmates haven't had a trial yet and are merely charged with a crime at this point. Police can and do make mistakes and arrest the wrong people. If that person is you, (and all it takes is a false accusation from anyone you encounter), would you like to spend even one night in our jail? How about 30 days while you wait for your trial?

Let's do the right thing and open the new jail.

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