Sheriff Says Jail Won't Open on Time

Loudoun County is on track to more than double the size of its jail by fall 2009. That would appear to be good news for the county, because the 220-bed facility in Leesburg doesn't have room for the 500 inmates the sheriff's department oversees on a typical day.

There's a hitch, though.

Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson (I) said the 256-bed addition cannot open on schedule because the county didn't include money in its latest budget to hire 25 of the 45 people needed to staff it. Simpson had planned to request the other 20 positions next year.

"There's no way in the world we can open up the second phase of the jail with our current staff. No way," he said in an interview last week. "We're not going to be able to open it on time, even though we are moving forward with the construction."

The sheriff's department isn't the only county agency that took a hit in the fiscal 2009 budget. The Board of Supervisors approved a $1.6 billion plan Tuesday that also reduced the School Board's budget request significantly, citing the economic environment.

But board Chairman Scott K. York (I) said Simpson will be able to fully staff the jail's 121,164-square-foot addition by filling existing vacancies.

"Actually, he's got plenty of vacancies that he hasn't been able to fill," York said. "So he does have the money there to get those positions on line and ready to go."

Simpson said his vacancies are for deputy positions at the existing facility. "We have a lot of people working overtime to make up for our vacancies," he said. "So we still need 45 new deputies for the second phase of the jail."

Jail space has been one of Loudoun's biggest challenges over the past two decades, as its inmate count has soared along with its population.

The county's $27 million, state-of-the-art adult detention center opened in the summer, replacing a dark and decrepit 118-bed facility that some called "the dungeon."

But on the day the 87,000-square-foot jail opened, it already was too small. Simpson said county officials underestimated the future inmate population a decade ago, even as he warned that a new jail was needed.

Loudoun has dealt with the bed shortage at its jail by sending more than half of its prisoners to facilities across the state.