Washington County’s correctional facility will soon have new officers after being short-staffed.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the hiring of eight additional officers at the Washington County Regional Correctional Facility (WCRC).
According to Sheriff Milton Gaston, the facility has been understaffed for quite some time.
An audit was performed in October by the American Correctional Association (ACA)—a private non-profit organization composed of current and former corrections officials which provides accreditation to prisons, jails and other detention facilities.
Based on the results of the audit, Gaston told the board he thinks they need to move as soon as possible when it comes to staffing the WCRC with eight additional people.
The audit is performed every three years and Gaston said while he doesn’t know exactly what the repercussions would be if those eight people are not hired, he wouldn’t want something to happen at the facility and it happens that they did not do what they were asked to do with staffing.
District 4 Supervisor Mala Brooks inquired as to what happens if accreditation is not met.
Gaston responded, “The facility has to be accredited, if it’s not, there’s a possibility we’d lose it.”
District 1 Supervisor Lee Gordon suggested there should be a longer discussion regarding the WCRC, such as a special called meeting, and Brooks proposed the possibility of a work session regarding the facility.
“You’re going to have to have a meaningful discussion with others beyond the Sheriff’s Department because the Sheriff’s Department is doing only what’s required of the courts and the district attorney’s office,” board attorney Willie Griffin told the board.
He explained, “Once that person gets indicted, the sheriff’s department has no control over how that person gets in or out of jail.”
Gordon reiterated the importance of having a special called meeting or work session because of the several factors to weigh such as funding, hiring staff and the possible addition of prisoners from the state.
Griffin advised the board, “You need to act expeditiously to be accommodating in terms of authorizing the sheriff’s department to hire these individuals,” because of the current climate of corrections in the state of Mississippi due to shortage of staff.
“This is a $350,000 move that we have to make and we need to make sure that it’s funded …we’ve got to make sure that we can do this and can maintain it over the years,” Gordon said.
The motion to hire the eight additional staff members for the WCRC was made by District 5 supervisor Redmon and seconded by Brooks.
Gordon and BOS president Carl McGee voted opposed.
