Mecklenburg County plans to reopen its second jail in August as overcrowding worsens at the county's uptown detention center.
More than 2,100 people are being held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center — hundreds more than its designed capacity. People are sleeping in overflow areas, officials said. A WFAE reporter saw plastic beds lining the floor of one living area.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden says overcrowding affects nearly every aspect of daily life.
"Imagine, our pods are designed for 53 people. I have 84 in that pod," McFadden said. "Eighty-four people want to take a shower. Eighty-four people want to call their loved ones. Eighty-four people need to talk to their parents because they're concerned, and their parents are concerned."
WFAE spoke with three residents who have each spent nearly six years in jail awaiting trial. WFAE is not identifying them to avoid interfering with their pending cases. They described conditions that have changed dramatically over that time.
"We use the phones, we got in touch with our people, we had lawyer visits, the pods were clean," one resident said. "However, due to the mass population, cleaning supplies became low, and they started putting people on the floors. And everything just became drastic."
Residents told WFAE that overcrowding has strained access to phones, showers and other resources. One resident said there are too many people competing for too few phones.
"Everyone can't use the phone,” he said. “There's like 80 people in here. Even if we start a line on the phone, we're still not going to make it. Certain people are not going to be able to talk to their families."
Another man said the hardest part is sleeping on the floor.
"Just imagine trying to lay down,” he said. “And we [are] 6 inches off the floor, and people [are] walking over you all night, going back and forth to the bathrooms and stuff. So you wake up, and then that caused problems …and people fight."
Another resident said the conditions are beginning to take a toll on people's mental health.
"I wake up every day,” he said."I know I'm not gonna use my tablet. I know it's gonna be an issue getting on the phone. I know when I go take a shower it's gonna be disgusting. I know the food cart's gonna come late. I know that I might not get my meds on time."
But McFadden says Mecklenburg County isn't alone.
"We had two sheriffs from other counties call us asking every sheriff in North Carolina, ‘Do you have bed space?’ And they do not," McFadden said. "One county said, can we accommodate 20 to 30 people? I'm trying to accommodate 300."
Jails across North Carolina have reported overcrowding in recent months. Sheriffs say a combination of long-standing court backlogs and new state laws has led to defendants staying behind bars longer.
Iryna's Law requires sheriffs to hold people who are accused of violent crimes and dealing with mental illness, instead of releasing them on bond, with a new process for risk and mental evaluations required. House Bill 318 mandates that sheriffs work with immigration authorities and hold undocumented people for longer.
The Mecklenburg Sheriff's Office says it is managing the overcrowding largely through mandatory overtime. Next fiscal year's budget gives the sheriff's office $5.3 million in new funding for the increased jail population.
McFadden says staff and residents are living through a crisis.
"This is me talking about how we can provide the services for our individuals that are incarcerated,” McFadden said. "We're doing the best that we can, but we are caring for an additional 300 to 400 people beyond the capacity."
Jail North is expected to reopen in August and provide some relief — but only after dozens of new detention officers are hired and trained.
