Opening for new county jail pushed back

Guilford County sheriff BJ Barnes said today that the tentative opening date for the new county jail would have to be pushed back as the county waits for the state to finish the certificate-of-occupancy process, which allows his department to move inmates into the building. Barnes did not know when the process would be completed or when inmates would be moved.

Barnes originally planned to move prisoners into the new facility on the corner of West Washington and South Edgeworth Streets on May 1 and hoped the certificate process would be completed by the end of last month. Barnes said the ribbon-cutting event, which is separate from the move in date, could still happen around May 1, but said the department does not have a date set yet.

Once the certificate-of-occupancy is complete, Barnes said he needs 30 days to train his employees in the building, including an overnight fundraising event where people can pay $100 each to spend a night to be processed and spend a night in the jail. Money from the event would go back into the county's general fund. The event would be held closer to the prisoner move-in date.

Opponents of the new jail will protest this Thursday, April 12, calling for much of the facility to remain empty and for an end to criminalization, particularly of youth of color. For more information about the jail, read YES! Weekly's recent cover story on the issue here.