County Breaks Ground for New $83 Million Detention Center

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson County broke ground Friday for a new $83 million, 650-bed detention center which will replace the current facility which was built in 1955 and currently far overcrowded.

Construction is scheduled to begin Monday, and the new detention center should be open in three years.

The new facility, located on the grounds of the current facility, will also allow for greater safety for officers and inmates and for better supervision with fewer employees and will feature indirect supervision, a method of supervising inmates where correctional officers monitor inmate living areas from enclosed posts, helping avoid much direct, personal interaction with inmates.

It will also offer options for better service for those with serious mental health issues and for those struggling with addiction.

Space will also be available to allow the county to house juveniles, which now have to be escorted to Columbia by two Anderson County deputies, federal prisoners and women, all of which will generate some income.

Currently, 480 prisoners are housed in the facility which is built for 240 inmates, leaving 12 inmates sometimes crowded into cells built for four inmates. This has left some sleeping on the floor. The current facility was not built with air conditioning in mind, and the lack of air flow when cooling the building has led to some moisture issues as well.

The detention center is for those charged, but not convicted, of crimes who are awaiting trial.