MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice has requested that the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office reopen the Juvenile Detention Center, also known as Jail North. A request that Sheriff McFadden feels is “unrealistic” and “requires real investment.”
Jail North closed in 2022 due to COVID-related staffing issues. MCSO said it will have to recruit, hire, and train the staff necessary to reopen the detention center. Officials note that at the time it closed, it housed an average of 51 inmates every day, which “places an undue strain on the existing recruiting efforts at MCSO,” Sheriff McFadden said in a released statement.
The request from the state is not a requirement for the MSCO, Sheriff McFadden clarified. However, the sheriff’s office is already engaged in recruiting and training efforts for their own detention officers and future deputies to be enrolled in their Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy.
RELATED: Sheriff’s office turns former detention center into free camp’s ‘playhouse’
According to a spokesperson with the Sheriff’s Office, MCSO is being asked to reopen Jail North because other facilities across the state are facing a shortage of bed space. “With juvenile crime remaining an ongoing concern, they believe reopening the facility would help the growing need for juvenile detention space in Mecklenburg County. “…