Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden asked the state’s Department of Public Safety to meet with him in a public forum to discuss how they can “collectively move toward reopening” the county’s former juvenile detention facility, Jail North.
McFadden sent the letter to DPS Deputy Secretary William Lassiter on Oct. 31, after The Charlotte Observer reported that Lassiter still hopes for Jail North to reopen one day. In mostly private conversations, many in the criminal justice system have been trying to find a way to reopen it for years.
Others, including a collection of advocacy groups known as Children’s Alliance and District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, also believe something important was lost when McFadden closed the facility in 2022…