2 days Ago
Some visitors to the Aiken County detention center March 28 got a close-up look at two of the four new inmate housing units that were built during a major expansion that cost nearly $15.5 million. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in G Pod, which has two-person cells and a common area.
“It will be a step down from maximum security,” said Maj. Nick Gallam, who is the detention center’s operations manager. The ceremony’s guests also had the opportunity to walk next door to H Pod.
“This is going to be our reward dorm for really well-behaved inmates with no disciplinary issues,” Gallam said. H Pod has an open sleeping area and the amenities include a washer and a dryer. “We’ll be heavy on programs here,” Gallam said.
“We’ll have GED, substance abuse and religious programs.” The four housing units have 150 beds in all and will increase the detention center’s rated capacity, which is determined by the S.C.
Department of Corrections, according to Gallam, from 317 to 467. There were 422 inmates at the detention center as of March 28, and “last year, we hit over 500,” he said. “We’ve been averaging 450,” added Gallam, who described the expansion as "much needed.
" Moseley Architects designed the four new dorms and R.D. Brown Contractors Inc.
was in charge of their construction. “This expansion is more than just additional space,” Gallam said. “It also is an investment in the safety and well-being of our staff and the individuals in our custody and in the community.
The enhanced infrastructure will allow us to operate more efficiently, improve living conditions [for inmates] and implement new programs aimed to rehabilitate and reduce recidivism.” All four of the new dorms are for men. Originally, two were supposed to be for women.
That plan changed because “we’ve been monitoring our inmate population and the demographics and the needs, and we decided we needed more space for men,” Gallam said. The expansion, according to Sheriff Marty Sawyer, will allow the detention center to “get back to two people per cell instead of three or four.” It also will reduce the number of inmates under a single detention center staff member’s supervision.
“In some of our dorms right now, we’re working with one officer to 77 inmates,” Gallam said. “[With the expansion], we’ll be able to spread some of the population into the newer dorms, so we’re hoping to get that ratio down to one [officer] to 56 [inmates].” Money received by Aiken County from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is being used to pay for the expansion.
“We are at substantial completion,” Gallam said. Inmates are scheduled to begin living in the new dorms in April, which was good news to Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker. “An overcrowded detention center is good for no one,” he said.
“It’s not safe and it’s not healthy. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony’s attendees included Aiken Department of Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco, Aiken County Deputy Administrator Lynn Strom and Danny Feagin, who is the chairman of County Council’s Judicial and Public Safety Committee.
The Aiken County detention center, which opened in 2002, is at 435 Wire Road..
