Burke County sheriff seeks funds for repairs at detention center

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams is asking for help with his detention center.

He says they’ve been experiencing so many issues it’s becoming unsafe for the staff and the inmates.

From overcrowding to safety concerns, the sheriff says he needs help from commissioners.

Full letter:

The Burke County Detention Center is 32 years old, and with employees leaving and a facility aging, the sheriff says getting funding from Burke County’s SPLOST is a must.

“We won’t get to revisit this again until 2030, and we cannot go the next eight years with the current detention facility at max capacity,” said Williams.

The current crisis at the detention center is why more than 50 inmates are being moved to other jails around the area, with a current capacity of 128 inmates.

With staffing and safety issues, they need to cut capacity to 75.

But criminals don’t seem to care. They keep coming.

“That is adequate for us to be able to have the right discipline, the right level of enforcement and to help with jail conditions and to minimize assaults, inmate on inmate, and to reduce gang behavior and activity within the detention facility,” he said.

The outdated design of the jail fuels the fire for assaults with easy access to communicate and touch outside of the cell. It puts everyone, including workers at risk.

“We need to look at getting a safer environment so that we can recruit and retain qualified personnel,” said Williams.

The center is short eight employees, with six leaving in the last three weeks. Williams says this is because employees are working mandatory overtime schedules, which leads to burnout.

Burke County will no longer book those with a misdemeanor, so charges like minor thefts and DUIs will be processed and released.

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