Sheriff Patrick Ray says he is pleased to announce that the DeKalb County Jail and the Jail Annex have both met standards for re-certification by the Tennessee Corrections Institute.
According to Sheriff Ray, “On June 21st, John Hanna, Jr., Detention Facility Specialist for the Tennessee Corrections Institute conducted an inspection and on June 26th, we received our certification for both the DeKalb County Jail and DeKalb County Jail Annex.”
Concerning the DeKalb County Jail, Hanna wrote in the summary of his report that “This facility is run by officers that seem to care about the conditions of the overall jail. I went through the cell areas that did not have evidence of pest or vermin. The medical section had a medical receipt system well established and the kitchen was up to date with the meal plans. I recommend continued certification of this jail.”
As for the DeKalb County Jail Annex, Hanna wrote that “The annex is run similar to the main jail. The physical plant looked clean with no sign of bugs and vermin. I recommend continued certification.”
Sheriff Ray says in spite of a growing inmate population at the jail, his administration has been able to maintain standards for state certification of the jail, while operating under budget. “When I took office on September 1st, there were 73 inmates who were housed at the jail. Since then, we have been housing an average of 95 per day and 113 on the weekends. We currently have 10 females and 85 male inmates incarcerated. We’ve also sent over 40 inmates to the Tennessee Department of Corrections in Nashville since September 1st.”
With the support of his staff and the county commission, Sheriff Ray says improvements have been made to the jail. ” Since September, I have been able to purchase new mats, blankets, and personal care items. We’ve done some painting, plumbing, and electrical work and we had a company come in and re-do some of the cell door locks. We’re also in the process of buying new security cameras for the jail.” All of these projects, he says, have been funded without overspending the budget.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Ray says the Tennessee Corrections Institute has granted approval for the DeKalb County Jail Annex to add 18 beds to the 88 bed facility.
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