Orange County jail receives backlash

A petition to oppose the construction of a new jail in Orange County that would cost approximately $30 million has garnered 106 signatures as of press time.

The new jail will be located at the intersection of I-40 and Old N.C. Highway 86, Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier said.

She said the jail will house 144 inmates, though it could be expanded to house more if necessary.

“We should be investing in our people and in our communities, that is, taking preventative measures to stop the cycle of incarceration before it begins,” Leah Block, a first-year at N.C. State University, said.

Block said she heard about the petition from other anti-oppression activists in North Carolina.

“What we need is more love, more education and more community organizing,” Block said. “We don’t need more jails.”

She said she believes the petition can make a difference.

“People power should never be underestimated,” Block said. “This is our community, after all, and we have the ultimate say as to what happens in our community.”

Orange County commissioners said they acknowledge the issues people have with the jail.

“I understand the concerns that people have, and we in Orange County have those concerns,” Pelissier said. “We are doing the best we can to keep as many people as possible out of jail.”

Pelissier said Orange County has one of the lowest incarceration rates in North Carolina.

She said the new jail will replace the older jail and will better serve those who are incarcerated.

“Putting people in an older jail that is not meant to have the numbers it has — that to me is not social justice,” she said.

Pelissier said she served on the Assessment of Jail Alternatives Work Group to look at other options to minimize the use of the jail. The work group also determined the size of the new jail.

Orange County Board of Commissioners recently decided to make the temporary work group a permanent fixture to reduce the number of incarcerated people in the county, Pelissier said.

She said the board of commissioners hired Caitlin Fenhagen to the position of criminal justice resource manager in November 2015.

Fenhagen said the position was created to identify and implement alternatives for those who face jail time. She said she oversees pretrial release services and drug treatment coordination.

“Our office is collecting information and data and considering risk assessment tools that will help address the racial and economic disparities in pretrial detention and incarceration rates,” Fenhagen said.

One of the concerns listed in the petition said many people who are incarcerated have mental illnesses and substance abuse problems.

To address this issue, Fenhagen said a position was created to work with those in jail who have mental illnesses and drug addictions.

“Our drug treatment coordinator oversees the county drug treatment court and advocates for participation in the therapeutic court — as opposed to a prison sentence — for individuals with significant substance abuse issues and criminal records,” Fenhagen said.

Pelissier said the purpose of the new jail is to provide a more modern facility that has the resources to help incarcerated people stay out of jail in the future.

“Not building a new jail is not going to answer the problem,” Pelissier said.

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