About the Daily Press
YORK JAIL NEEDS $375,000 TO EASE OVERCROWDING
By AMY GARDNER Daily Press
DailyPress.com
YORK — A space crunch in York County's jail has become so acute that an immediate, $375,000 fix may be necessary, even though a new regional jail is expected to open two years from now, officials said Wednesday.
The Yorktown jail's inmate population has risen from about 45 to a high of 96 since Jan. 1, according to Sheriff P.S. Williams. Its official capacity is 24.
Williams has asked the Board of Supervisors to kick in a minimum of $375,000, plus some county office space, so he can convert his own offices to additional prison cells.
And the supervisors are listening, despite the fact that the renovations wouldn't be necessary if the new jail opened today.
"It's basically money thrown down a rat hole, but there's no way to get around this," said County Administrator Daniel M. Stuck.
York officials at least partially blame their prison space crunch on Gov. George Allen's new Parole Board, which has granted parole with far less frequency than the previous board.
That policy has squeezed the state prison system, which is passing the burden on to local jails, where state inmates awaiting transfer are lingering for longer and longer periods, Williams said.
"I have 14 prisoners with more than two years to pull in the state system," Williams said.
The Allen-appointed board has granted parole to an average of about 15 percent of all eligible inmates, said Sandra L. Combs, a former York County supervisor now sitting on the Parole Board. In April 1993, the previous Parole Board granted parole in 40 percent of cases, Combs said.
Any jail overcrowding created by the granting of fewer paroles is the responsibility of the state Department of Corrections, not the Parole Board, Combs said.
"None of us make decisions based on the population of a particular facility. Our concern is the safety of the people of Virginia, and that people are punished for the crimes they commit," Combs said.
The renovation of York's jail will probably require moving most of the Sheriff's Department's administrative offices into county office space - possibly in the Circuit Courthouse or the General District Courthouse, Stuck said.
The vacated offices would then be converted for jail use, Stuck said.
The Board of Supervisors has not committed to the project, but it has directed the county staff to begin soliciting a design proposal for the renovation, said county spokesman John A. Carl. The board will probably consider official action at its next meeting, he said.
Design proposals for the project are due by next week, according to Carl. He estimated the design cost at about $15,000. The project itself will probably take about six months, he said.
The York jail isn't the only one suffering the effects of an inmate population more than double its capacity.
Hampton, for example, currently houses about 430 prisoners in a jail certified to hold 160. The Newport News jail held 505 prisoners Wednesday despite a rated capacity of 248.
A TIGHT FIT
Nearly all the region's jails are overcrowded. Here are the numbers:
Population* Capacity
York 81 24
Hampton 434 160
Newport News 505 248
Williamsburg-JCC 109 64
Gloucester 68 67
Suffolk** 441 531
*Wednesday
**Western Tidewater Regional Jail
Published correction ran Friday, December 9, 1994.A story in Thursday's Local section incorrectly identified Parole Board member Sandra L. Combs as a former York County supervisor. She is a former York School Board member. The story also incorrectly reported that Western Tidewater Regional Jail's capacity is 531; it is 372.
Copyright © 2023, Daily Press