Jail progress stalls

Progress on Jeff Davis Parish’s $9.4 million regional jail facility has been hindered once again.

The facility was originally projected to open in January but is now expected to be completed in late July or early August.

“Hopefully, we can meet that goal,” said Chief Deputy Chris Ivey of the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office. “There are still some issues which need to be ironed out foundationwise, such as some leaks in the roof which the contractors have just found.”

Ivey said the jail must be completely finished before prisoners can be moved in. He said the sheriff’s office would need to get new employees trained before this can happen, however.

At this week’s police jury meeting, jurors approved several contracts necessary to the opening of the jail that include food, medical care and utilities.

The jurors approved $612,100 per year to the sheriff’s department for 17 new employees.

“We haven’t started hiring any of the new employees yet,” Ivey said. “That was one of the issues because the new facility will be two-thirds larger than the one we have now. The manpower we have currently wouldn’t be enough to satisfactorily monitor the inmates. We’re going through the application process but we’re waiting on a final date to start training.”

Ivey also shared examples of some of the other elements that need to be addressed before the facility can open.

“The new jail is automated as opposed to manual, where you use a touchscreen to open doors. There’s going to be a week or two where we need access to the jail with no prisoners so we can train people on using this system,” Woods said. “With the layout of the old jail, there is one hallway with three cells. With this new site, it has tiers that go around the building, so we need to have employees learn where certain cells are, as well as the kitchen and the booking area. They need to know the routes to go from one place to the other and know how to get in and out of the doors.”

The new jail, located on a 17.5-acre site off U.S. 90 west of Jennings, will have 200 beds, a central control room, separate recreation yards for male and female inmates, isolation cells and a vehicular sally port.