Mecklenburg County Commissioners vote to immediately re-open Detention Center North to relieve overcrowding

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A historic overcrowding crisis at the Mecklenburg County jail has forced local leaders to take emergency action. On Tuesday night, Mecklenburg County Commissioners approved a $3 million budget amendment to immediately reopen the vacant Detention Center North.

Sheriff Garry McFadden addressed the board Tuesday night, revealing the Uptown facility is holding more than 2,200 inmates, which surpasses its capacity by more than 400 people.

He says the population spike has forced more than 100 people to sleep on plastic plastic bunks on gym floors. McFadden says the budget shift uses special revenue to open the beds without requiring new tax dollars. He says, “The largest population in Mecklenburg County occurred in 2008 when the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office housed 2,610. They had an advantage over this sheriff. Why? In 2008, they had three facilities to house 2,600 people in. They had Central, they had North, and they had what they call the Annex. So imagine I’m housing 2,200 in one building. But (that sheriff) had the ability to have three detention centers.”

The sheriff confirms that Detention Center North is already fully inspected, and his staff is ready to begin moving inmates to the facility within 15 days.