Jail population stays low

Loudon County’s jail inmate count has remained relatively down seven months into the new expanded facility’s opening.

Since moving inmates over in the fall, inmate count as reached as low as 88 in September and as high as 155 in January. The total as of Monday was 117.

“Versus our overcrowding in the past year, before that it was just, ‘Wow, here we are in the new facility and our numbers are down’,” Jake Keener, Loudon County Sheriff’s Office jail administrator, said. “It was actually the perfect timing because we were able to get our procedures down pat with less inmates and so it made it a little safer and we found out the things that didn’t work we were able to correct before our numbers went back up.”

Loudon County in September completed a new jail that houses 264 beds, including 193 new male beds and 71 female beds. Total expenses for the project were $17.5 million, with construction costing $16.25 million. The facility formerly was certified for 91 beds.

Phase two of the jail project, which consisted of renovating the old portion, was completed about two weeks ago, Jimmy Davis, LCSO chief deputy, said. The newly renovated space will be used for visitation and overflow of female inmates.

“It’ll be for less security risks, more of a dormitory style, and maybe even some female trustees,” Davis said. “We’re going to start our female trustee program in the next few weeks now that it’s all open where the female trustees can earn good days and work in the jail keeping it clean, doing the laundry for the other inmates and serving meals.”

Davis believes the added space could make all the difference, but there are also drawbacks.

“The issue is because of the design and the way we had to design it and add it to existing, it’s very spread out,” Davis said. “That’s why very labor intensive the number of people instead of being able — the old jail like I said, to work one area and be able to go back and forth from booking to here and do that, it’s a lot less convenient and takes time to get through the jail because it’s spread out. Very much labor intensive. We had to go to a 12-hour shift from an eight-hour shift just to cover the designated posts. That’s been a lot because that goes into overtime. It’s just been difficult to keep up, but with COVID I think as well our jail numbers have been down. Once everything seems to start opening back up a little bit and the summer, warmer weather gets here, that usually increases our intake rate.”

Keener, too, believes warm weather could mean more arrests.

“People getting out more and everybody’s a little more active, I expect our numbers to go up significantly very soon,” Keener said.

“We see it more because people are out more,” Davis added. “... Historically (when) you get cold weather, you get whether it be domestics because people are in their homes or stresses of holidays where there’s family issues, money issues, that time of year. Warm weather in the summer people start coming outside, tend to drink and things with the activities that happen outside whether it be boating or camping or fishing or whatever, sometimes alcohol is involved in that. That usually plays a part in it.”

Davis said there is room for expansion when needed.