Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington laid out programming plans for the move into the new jail.
As much as the sheriff would like to have the nearly 1,300 inmates in the old jail transferred over, it’s not likely to happen soon.
“Despite antiquated buildings, staffing shortages, and inadequate technology, our goal is and has always been safety and security for all,” Washington said. “The move to the new jail, in several ways, will give us the kind of support needed to continue our work of protecting and serving.”
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office showed off glossy photographs of a jail without bars, but with a lot of cameras. The facility will have more supervision that watches over the population and aims to focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment.
“The new jail is designed with classrooms and medical interview rooms and a jail on every housing unit where every inmate resides while in our custody,” Washington said.
The Wayne County Criminal Justice Center has been way above budget since the very beginning. It’s currently estimated to cost $570 million. Dan Gilbert’s Rock Companies are picking up much of that cost.
It’s estimated to take about six months to move everyone into the building, which will also include the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, part of the county clerk’s office and a juvenile detention program. The county said it will have to pay rent if it takes longer than six months and there is considerable fear of that happening.
“I would like to hope it’s the end of the year and if not, it’s going to be early next year,” Washington said. “But it’s not anything we can do at the sheriff’s office to push that forward, it’s a construction issue at the county executive’s office and we’re working with them to get it to happen in a timely manner.”
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