MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Shelby County sheriff candidates are divided on whether to build a new jail, with some calling for a feasibility study and others prioritizing repairs and staffing at the current facility.
Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner, the current number two at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, said a new jail is needed but did not give specifics, including where it should be built.
“I submit to you that in my first year, I will commission a feasibility study for the Shelby County Jail. There are a lot of conversations right now about building a new jail, but we don’t even know right now how much life is left in the current facility,” Buckner said.
Former Assistant Chief of Jail Security, Reginald Hubbard, supports a new jail but said his focus will be on better management.
“The culture inside has to change. We are living with a culture inside of there that deals with friendship, relationship, nepotism, cronyism, and it’s not working inside of there,” Hubbard said…