BELMONT COUNTY, O.H. (WTRF) — They opened the current Belmont County Jail in 1996, expanded it in 2008, and five years later, outgrew it again.
Sheriff Dave Lucas revealed the county is now going to build another addition. He said standards change frequently, and it’s not just about the number of beds.
They have 144 beds, which sounds sufficient, but Lucas says that’s only in a perfect world.
“For instance, a sex offender has to be housed separately,” he explained. “So if I have a wing that has 12 cells and we only have one sex offender, there are 11 beds there that I can’t use. And there’s also security, risk factors and mental health issues.”
The sheriff says the nearest mental health beds are in Athens or Massillon. He says the state just earmarked $51 million for building jails statewide.
In his words, “If we’re going to do this, the time is now.”
