Officials complete transfer of inmates to new facility

The old jail might be used as short-term holding facility, the sheriff said.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- The transfer of inmates from the old Mercer County Jail to the new jail on Thompson Road, Findley Township, is complete.
Sheriff William Romine and Warden Jeff Gill told the Mercer County Prison Board when it met Monday that 115 inmates were moved in vans Saturday morning. Mercer County deputy sheriffs, the Pennsylvania State Police, Jefferson Township and Mercer Borough police assisted jail employees. The date of the move had not been announced beforehand because of security concerns.
The task now is to move the approximately 80 inmates who have been housed in other county's jails back to Mercer County now that they can be accommodated. These transfers began Sunday and Monday, but about 65 inmates are still housed in other counties.
Double the capacity and staff
Gill said the new facility, which has about double the capacity of the old one, also has nearly twice the staff. The new jail houses 280 inmates; the old one could hold only about 118.
He said six positions are still left to fill, including five clerical and one lieutenant. He said he hopes to begin interviewing candidates next week.
Current staffing includes 72 part- and full-time correctional officers, five lieutenants, two deputy wardens, one warden, two counselors, one admissions secretary, two records personnel, and two full- and two part-time maintenance workers.
Romine said that after three months of operations at the new jail, officials will determine whether the old jail across the street from the county courthouse should be converted to a temporary holding facility. The new jail is about a five-minute drive from the courthouse, and he said there might be a need for a place where inmates can be held temporarily without returning them to the jail.