COLUMBIA, S.C. — As of Friday, Richland County is a few days into its 15-to-20-day hiring search process for a new Richland County Jail Director and months into the overall improvement efforts for the jail.
For the last two days, the State Department of Corrections says they have had 15 experts inspect the facility for "ongoing issues have raised the level of concern about safety."
The team included experts in:
- Electronics
- Cameras
- Construction
- Locking systems
- Perimeter security
- Institutional security
- Maintenance
- Security procedures
- Policy
- Leadership
- Fencing
- Staffing
Earlier in the week, Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown told News 19 the county had been focused on improving inside the facility and would eventually move to outside efforts, including looking at the fence.
"The detention center actually already has a fence around it so whether the fence would need to be upgraded in some shape form or fashion, we haven't really started dealing with the external structure," Brown explained. "A lot of our focus has been on the housing units for the detainees and security inside of the detention center. But as you heard chair pugh say, the potential the opportunity of external improvements all of those things are considerations of the future so again long-term process includes internal and external components."
The Department of Corrections says this inspection is another step in the ongoing process of working with the center on meeting the minimum standards for a local detention facility to ensure the safety of inmates.