It’s been three months since the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office started updating their jail cells.
In November, crews got to work on updating the inside of the jail. Before the updates, inmates could easily open the cell doors by pouring water on the locks and shorting out the system.
Now, they’re installing new doors with different locking mechanisms on each cell.
Sheriff Phil Sims said, “These can’t be shorted out with water. They just can’t. They’re mechanical on the side. All the electronics and stuff is up on top where inmates can’t get to them.”
Once every new door is installed, each jail block will be repainted with more durable paint.
“We’re not going to Lowes or anywhere and just buying regular enamel paint that can be peeled off the wall,” said Sims.
Updating the jail has been a top priority for Sims, and the jail cells aren’t the only parts that are getting updated. The lobby and office spaces are being completely redone.
“Once the mold remediation is done, then we’ll go in and design the new office space,” said Sims. “We got a lot of space in there that’s not being utilized now, like an old line up room, old storage here, old evidence room that we no longer use, so we can use that space a little bit more efficient.”
Sims says he’s estimating they will spend at least $2 million on all the updates.
“It’s been neglected over the years, so what we’re doing here is spending money ahead of time to fix it the way it needs to be fixed for the long term,” said Sims.
Sims hopes to be completely done with construction on the jail in the next ten months.
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