New housing units in the Warren County jail are opening this week after a major expansion project.

For the better part of a year, construction crews have been relocating the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and turning their old offices into housing for over 50 additional inmates. Sheriff Kevin Harrison told The Record he planned to move female inmates from their overcrowded quarters to one of the new housing units this week.

The expansion is in response to a surge in the number of inmates beginning about four years ago.  The spike is attributed to increasing population and a higher proportion of serious crimes being committed.

There has been consistent overcrowding since 2016, Harrison said. Some inmates are currently living in cramped, single-room dorms, while others sleep with three people in cells that are made for two.

“There’s too many people in close proximity to each other, which leads to high stress. It leads to disturbances — fights amongst the inmates, fights against staff, property damage and violence,” Harrison commented. “I really hope we can spread these people out, that we can bring down the overall stress level. When people are incarcerated … it’s a very low point in their life, so it doesn’t take many other factors and they act out.”

The current jail facilities were built in 1997 with an intended capacity of about 106 inmates. But  the average population of the jail has hovered around 130 for the past four years, Harrison said.

Two large dormitory rooms, reminiscent of military barracks, have been built in the first floor of the Warren County Courthouse, where the jail is located. Also added were a block of five isolation cells that will house the most dangerous inmates, along with several observation cells for inmates at risk of self harm.

To make room for that new space, the sheriff’s department was moved from the first floor of the courthouse to newly built offices in the basement. Harrison said repurposing the existing spaces was the most cost-effective way to expand the jail using the county’s existing revenue.

“At the end of the day, I am very happy with what we’ve got,” he stated.

Harrison added that one of the notable upgrades are the padded observation cells for inmates with violent mental health issues, as well as for those agitated by drug or alcohol use.

The jail has been in need of more rooms where those inmates can calm down without harming themselves or others, the sheriff said.

“For the last couple of years, it’s rare that those cells are empty,” Harrison commented.

Some minor work remains in the new areas, but other than that Harrison said what’s left is to deep-clean the old housing units. As inmates are shifted into the new dorms, the sheriff plans to begin a rotation of temporarily emptying the old housing units, power washing them and repainting.

Alongside some mechanical repairs, Harrison said this will be the first large-scale restoration of jail facilities in the two decades since they were built.

County officials said the final cost of the project is still being determined. The estimated cost at the outset of construction was $3.6 million.

Harrison said despite some community members’ belief that the jail operates at a surplus through state and federal payments, neither of those come close to paying for the expansion project or even normal operations. The jail does receive reimbursement for inmates accused of violating state laws, and receives additional funding to house a small number of federal prisoners. But Harrison said that revenue only accounts for about 33 percent of the jail’s operating budget.