Gadsden County jail aging, reports say; officials push work-release and reentry supports

Gadsden County officials reported an aging jail, rising contraband and a pretrial-heavy population during the Public Safety Coordinating Council meeting.

Jail administrators described an older facility with ongoing maintenance needs and a mixture of medical and behavioral-health challenges among inmates. Kathleen White, who identified herself in the meeting as the jail administrator, said the county’s jail was built in 1989 and described maintenance work this year including replacement of a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning unit and repairs to locks and plumbing.

“As of today, we are overcrowded at the jail,” White said, and she reported the facility population at one point during the meeting as 86 inmates. White told the council that male inmates made up roughly 93.29 percent of the population and females about 6.71 percent. She said the jail is seeing more people with mental-health needs and more contraband, including cell phones and homemade weapons discovered during recently conducted shakedowns.

County building-department staff member Roosevelt Morrison described ongoing repairs and said lock mechanisms are old and occasionally require out-of-county repair technicians. Morrison said the facility’s administration area recently had new carpeting installed and that the county performs annual inspections.

Officials discussed the jail’s case mix: White reported that roughly 76.47 percent of inmates were being held on active misdemeanor charges (including those pending disposition), and that 96.67 percent of inmates categorized as felonies were pending resolution rather than sentenced. The figures prompted questions from the state attorney’s office and defense counsel about how the data were compiled; White said she would review and clarify the statistics for the council.

Alternatives to incarceration drew particular attention. Tamika Rollins, who presented the Gadsden County work program, said the county operates a work program intended as an alternative to incarceration. Requirements for participation include a verified job, drug testing, insurance and a valid driver’s license. Rollins said one work-release participant currently was active, and described fees charged to participants: a $100 upfront fee to enroll and weekly payments of $65 from the participant’s account.

Rollins provided historical program numbers showing wide variation in use: from February 2021 through February 2025 the program reportedly had 13 probationers participate (11 felony, one misdemeanor and one traffic case) and — as presented — a total number of man-hours worked that the presenter cited as 18,1824 hours (figure in transcript unclear). Rollins said the same program in earlier years recorded higher participation; she cited a 2018 figure showing 9 0 participants and a total of 9,768 public-works man-hours with county savings calculated at the then-prevailing wage.

Council members urged clearer charts and handouts for future meetings so commissioners and partners can evaluate jail demographics and program utilization. The county also discussed inviting Leon County officials to present on a shared jail information system (JIS) used there to improve coordination among law enforcement, the clerk’s office and the courts.

Officials emphasized safety for staff, inmates and visitors and said the jail continues to test and confiscate contraband and to coordinate with medical and mental-health providers.