Mecklenburg jails to house about 60 federal detainees under new agreement

Mecklenburg County will begin housing about 60 federal detainees in its two detention centers under a new agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service, reported WFAE and whqr.org.

Most of these detainees are expected to be placed in Jail North, which reopened recently to help relieve overcrowding at Jail Central in uptown Charlotte. Despite this, Sheriff Garry McFadden acknowledged ongoing crowding issues, noting that some inmates at Jail Central still sleep on stackable bunks.

The reopening of Jail North requires additional staffing and funding. Federal payments from the Marshals Service under the agreement will assist in operating the facility, according to McFadden.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Edge explained that federal detainees can be relocated to other sheriff’s departments if Mecklenburg faces space or staffing shortages, allowing flexibility in managing detainee populations.

Mecklenburg County had stopped housing federal detainees in 2023 after its previous contract ended. Since then, detainees with cases in the Western District of North Carolina were housed in facilities across several states, sometimes up to six hours away. Bringing detainees back aims to improve access to attorneys and families and reduce transportation costs, officials said.