Prince William jail to release non-violent offenders in wake of coronavirus

Updated

Non-violent offenders will walk free as the coronavirus continues to spread.

An undetermined number of ‘non-violent’ offenders will be released from the Prince William County Adult Detention Center in Manassas, said Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth in a press release.

They “do not pose a risk to the public,” said Ashworth.

“We are encouraging the use of alternatives to incarceration in appropriate cases, including house arrest, electronic monitoring, and supervised pre-trial release,” Ashworth said.

Judges, in consultation with the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, decide which inmates will be released. Prince William Adult Detention Center Superintendent Col. Peter Meletis says he will be able to provide a specific number of inmates to be released next week.

“We need to break out those numbers,” said Meleits.

On an average day, the jail releases about 20 inmates as part of the standard operating procedure, Meletis added. These inmates are processed out after serving their time.

Non-violent offenders can range from people who were jailed for drug possession to failure to pay child support. There are about 750 inmates currently jailed at the facility, which has a capacity of 1,020 when inmates are housed two per cell, also called “double-bunking,” said Meletis.

Certain inmates that cannot be double-bunked, such as the mentally ill or those who are suicidal, are isolated, effectively reducing the number of beds on hand, he added.

The jail has implemented screening for all inmates who are now being processed into the facility. In addition to the common health questions, many are now being asked, jail staff also want to know if they’ve been out of the country recently, and, if so, where.

“If they answer yes to any of those questions, we isolate them immediately for two weeks,” said Meletis. Health officials say the virus has a two-week incubation period in the human body, meaning someone could be sick for up to 14 days and not know they are carrying the coronavirus.

Visitors to the jail are still permitted, to include family members and attorneys. The jail does not allow ‘contact’ visitation, so there is little concern of visitors infecting the inmate population.

The jail is rated by the state to hold as many as 667 inmates, one per cell. Meltis says there a number of inmates that he’s comfortable housing at one time.

“About 800 is good for now,” he said.

The Prince William jail hit an all-time high record number of inmates in 2014, with 1,114 housed in the Manassas complex. Workforce reentry programs and drug treatment programs administered by the more than 300 volunteers who work at the jail under regular circumstances helped to drastically reduce that rate, said Meletis.

About 400 volunteers work those programs at the jail, many of which are faith-based organizations, have temporarily been barred from the jail in the wake of the virus spread.

Meletis manages about 400 staff members, both sworn and civilian. Right now, the mood among his good, for now.

“If the staff or inmates come down with this virus, that is going to put a strain on the staff,” said Meletis.

The move to release inmates in Prince William County comes as other jurisdictions in the state are making similar moves. Inmates at Middle River Regional Jail outside Staunton will soon walk free as officials there hope to reduce the jail’s population by as much as 125 inmates, the Staunton News-Leader reports.

The jail in Manassas is currently undergoing a $50.7 million expansion that is slated to add 204 new beds to the facility. When completed this summer, the jail will have 1,224 beds, to include double-bunking, 1,687. When the expansion is complete, it will greatly reduce the need for double-bunking of inmates, said Meletis.

Potomac Local News also requested a comment from the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford County on this same issue. The jail has not returned our request for comment.