KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — Kershaw County leaders are dealing with an urgent problem, too many inmates inside the Kershaw County jail.
The situation has been growing for years, and now they're searching for solutions.
"We're over capacity and there are a lot of different factors in that, COVID, the pandemic had a huge role to play, also the way cases are prosecuted or handled has a part to play, but the main thing is growth, Kershaw County has seen so much growth in the past 10 years," says Kershaw County Chairwoman, Katie Guinn.
She says the facility was designed to hold around 86 people, but at times it’s housed between 120 to 150 inmates.
"There have been some conversions of some areas that weren't original places for cells but they've been converted to cells," adds Guinn.
With an influx of people moving into the area and the detention center running at full capacity, Guinn says they are now examining their options.
"The company who presented us with the study also brings back a workup of different scenarios, so one scenario would be expansion of the current jail and renovations of the current building or the other situation would be building a new jail" she adds.
A change new resident to the county, Kimberly Wiggers supports.
“I think I would like to see something done for the inmates, and residents of Camden as well, but if it’s warranted I think it’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” says Wiggers.
Chairwoman Guinn expects this process to take a couple of months, but in the meantime, they plan to address some of the immediate issues.
"In 2023-2024 we allocated $600,000 to capital projects renovations. The biggest priority project is the roof, so right now we're making smaller fixes what I call band-aids until we get these engineering and architectural plans in place to make a determination," Guinn adds.
Chairwoman Katie Guinn expects a plan to be in place within the next year, but there's no specific date for when all the changes will be implemented.
