The city of Richmond on Friday broke ground on a $134.6 million jail to replace its overcrowded, overheated facility that was built in the 1960s.
The Virginia Board of Corrections approved the city's plans to build a 1,032-bed facility in December, and construction is set to begin this month next to the existing jail on Fairfield Way. The new Justice Center is scheduled to open in 2014.
"The day has come for us to stop talking about building a Justice Center," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "Today … construction is about to begin."
Speaking at the formal groundbreaking attended by about 100 people, Jones said there are projects he would have preferred to take on as mayor rather than work for two years to get a new jail.
"When I started this process, it was not a popular undertaking then and it's not a popular undertaking now," he said. "It is not something that I have wanted to fight for, but it is an issue that I did fight for because I recognized … that it's the right thing to do."
The Richmond City Jail was built for 880 people but currently houses about 1,300. At times, it has been a temporary home for as many as 1,500. And the state board was concerned that, with 1,032 beds, the replacement jail would quickly be at capacity.
But Jones reiterated a pledge that the new Justice Center will not be "a bigger jail to warehouse more prisoners." He wants the city to move away from its model of incarceration and explore the use of ankle bracelets, a mental-health docket and other "more humane" alternatives, he said.
"There are some people that have issues that are not addressed by being warehoused in a building," he said.
City Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson said she is grateful to the mayor for this promise and called on the public to hold city leaders accountable.
"I'm glad that today, by choice, we are saying no more than 1,032 in the city of Richmond," she said, noting the jail currently houses more inmates. "By choice today we are making a decision to end the mass incarceration."
Robertson also criticized Gov. Bob McDonnell's legislative public-safety agenda that includes harsher penalties for repeat drug offenders, rather than money to help stop the demand for drugs or slow the flow of drugs coming into Richmond and the state. She said a drug problem is a health problem first.
Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr., who allowed the Richmond Times-Dispatch to document harsh conditions inside the City Jail, called the start of construction of a new jail a "historic moment."
"I'm excited at what this Justice Center will mean to all of us," he said. "Our efforts have yielded a new facility which enhances the lives of employees who work here, the community members who volunteer here and the citizens who visit here."
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