Jail board approves restoring deputy superintendent as superintendent details staffing gains and programs

The Prince William County jail board on a unanimous roll-call vote approved a motion to allow the superintendent to reclassify a position and convert it back into a deputy superintendent post.

The board approved the personnel reclassification after the superintendent delivered a multi-part operational update that highlighted staffing gains, training numbers and new community-facing programs. The superintendent said he took over seven months ago when vacancies totaled 88 and has since reduced open sworn vacancies substantially; he described hiring, two concurrent academies and outreach to high schools and colleges as central to that progress.

Why it matters: Restoring a deputy-level management slot signals the board and superintendent are prioritizing on-site leadership as the jail’s scope—and staff headcount—has grown. The superintendent argued the additional role would provide day-to-day management support.

The superintendent provided multiple operational figures: average daily population counts for recent months and highs in mid-July and late August; training tallies (206 staff qualified with firearms, 93 in officer-in-service training and 199 through officer wellness); and community-health measures including distribution of 868 boxes of Narcan since October 2021. He also said the facility detoxed 963 individuals in 2024, "that's averaging 80 people a month," and described a plan to place a senior RN in booking to accelerate triage after weekend admissions.

Direct quotes from the meeting reflected these points. The superintendent said, "When I took over as superintendent 7 months ago, we had 88 vacancies." On clinical staffing, he explained the nursing vacancy "has been vacant for 600 some days" and that he repurposed a current position to fill early-week coverage. On detox volumes he said in 2024 "we detoxed 963 inmates. That's averaging 80 people a month."

Board action and vote: During the meeting the chair asked for a motion to allow the superintendent to reclassify one of his positions and convert it back to a deputy superintendent. The motion was seconded and carried on a recorded roll call. The clerk recorded "Yes" votes from Miss Ashworth, Mister Austin, Miss Clymer, Sheriff Hill, Chief Keane, Miss Lennox, Chief Newsome, Miss Swartz and Mister Torres; the motion was approved.

Next steps: The board authorized the superintendent to proceed with the reclassification subject to HR and pay-scale adjustments as necessary. The superintendent and HR will follow county processes for reclassification and any required pay-scale changes.

The jail board did not specify an implementation date for the restored deputy superintendent position during the meeting.