Wednesday, April 26, 2017
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Trumbull County commissioners approved a $222,690 agreement with a Pennsylvania consulting company to plan a $2 million upgrade to the county jail’s security systems.
“We are completely upgrading the security of our building from access to every door into this building, every door in the jail,” Sheriff Paul Monroe said Tuesday.
The upgrade involves new wiring for every camera, door lock and intercom throughout the 180,000-square-foot facility, which was built in 1994. New cameras and intercoms also will be installed.
The building has 129 video surveillance cameras placed inside and outside of the facility, according to a page on the county website. It also has 28 miles of conduit and 95 miles of wire.
Monroe said one reason for the upgrade is to ensure that inmates can be transferred efficiently to and from the jail for court hearings and allow judges to operate their courts effectively.
Another reason is because the company that made the “commander” that runs the system no longer makes the parts for it. The best the company can do is recycle old parts from systems that are removed at other jails, Monroe said.
“Eventually that’s going to run out. They try to find used parts. If this system completely fails, we go back to the old lock and key, which is very cumbersome,” the sheriff said.
The consultants, Professional Systems Engineering LLC of Lansdale, Pa., will help the sheriff formulate a project plan and schedule.
Having the company come into the building to write the plan creates some logistical issues, such as the need for workers to be accompanied by security whenever they are in the building.
When the new wiring and other components are installed, inmates will have to be removed from those sections of the jail.
“At a time when our jail population is just about maxed out every day, we are going to have to work with our courts to reduce our jail population,” he said.
Monroe has spoken with the Mahoning County jail in Youngstown to discuss having that facility house some Trumbull prisoners.
Monroe said the timetable for the upgrades has not been determined. The county is likely to sell bonds to finance the project, with the sheriff’s office paying off the bond from its funds, Monroe said.