PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The end is nearing for the Hampton Roads Regional Jail (HRRJ) In Portsmouth. Staffers recently received a letter from the authority board chairman announcing a closure.
For background, HRRJ started out in 1998 as overflow housing for jails in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton. Chesapeake became the fifth member in 2016, according to the HRRJ website.
Between now and April, the hundreds of inmates who are there should be headed back to facilities in their respective cities.
In a letter to HRRJ employees, authority board chairman Bob Geis wrote in part, "We know this may be unsettling news, but it is necessary given the current and prospective inmate population."
He said the number of inmates at the regional jail has continued to fall over the years. Operations will cease no later than April 1, 2024, the letter went on to say.
In the past, leaders have pointed to staffing shortages as an issue at the facility. And in recent years, it has also fallen under scrutiny because of poor safety conditions.
"I see the work that has gone into it, so it's not for a lack of us trying. It's not for a lack of the localities working together. It's just that the model is no longer applicable to what we can provide. And so, I think it's time for us to make this sound decision to move in this direction, at this time," said Portsmouth Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, who also serves on the HRRJ authority board.
An official vote on the closure is still pending; however, it is likely happening at the authority board meeting Wednesday afternoon.
In the meantime, Lucas-Burke gave 13News Now an idea of what Portsmouth city leaders will do next.
"We will be negotiating the purchase of the regional jail," she said. "We need a jail. Our jail currently is on the waterfront, and we need to be able to offer that to a prime developer to be able to develop our waterfront into something beautiful and that will attract visitors and maybe even homeowners, if we decide to go that route with condos or something."
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Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore has previously said the current city jail in Portsmouth is in poor condition and needs renovations.
Furthermore, in Chairman Geis' letter, he said two bonuses are on the table for regional jail employees who stay until closure.
There is also a job fair scheduled for them later this fall if they would like to work for the partner cities. If they want to enter another line of work, career counselors will be available.
The Portsmouth NAACP shared a statement saying the closure "will be an end to decades of inhumanity, mistreatment, unfairness, unconstitutional conduct and civil rights violations that caused cruel punishment and death for far to long."
"Since 2015, we have advocated for this day to come after the deaths of JaMycheal Mitchell, Henry Stewart and so many others who died at the hands of a jail that the Department of Justice noted was 'Violating the Law,'" the statement read. "The Board should act swiftly to close this facility at the earliest date possible."