MONMOUTH — Warren County Sheriff Martin Edwards had some good news Monday afternoon: The Warren County Jail is back in business.
Five inmates were brought back from the Mercer County Jail in Aledo Monday morning. Edwards said more inmates were expected to return from Aledo later this week. Due to the Department of Corrections recommendations, it does not appear any females will be housed at the Warren County Jail. Of the 14 Warren County inmates left in Mercer County on Monday seven were female. Following the DOC inspection, Edwards said the county has reduced its bed space to 22 in the Warren County Jail.
“I think it is good for us to keep the operation going,” he said. “It is good for local law enforcement, not having to make the trips (to Aledo).”
The sheriff’s department still faces a rough road ahead.
“We have a new staff here without much experience with handling inmates and it will be somewhat of a learning curve for that,” Edwards said. “These are all fresh faces. I want to stay operating, but it all goes back to the staffing issues. We continue to be searching for good, qualified applicants. We want to get a healthy work force here and keep it that way.”
The Warren County Jail ceased operations in August 2018 due to a lack of staffing and transferred its prisoners to Mercer County. The department was down to just two correctional officers.
Since that time, Edwards said the search has been on for qualified applicants. About a week ago, they were up to nine correctional officers. Then, the number again dwindled to five after a couple left for higher-paying jobs. Of the five remaining, only a couple have been through the required academy.
“We still have people waiting to go through the school,” Edwards said.
WCSD officers from the Courthouse have helped fill staffing gaps at the jail.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get the 100 percent boots-on-the-ground,” Edwards said. “I would prefer to still get better staffing levels. However, we are having to go with what we have. Having said that, there was still some renovation work that was not completed. We have some space limitation.”
Some of that renovation was to get the showers up to par, which could happen later this week if some parts arrive on time. That would allow more inmates to be housed in the blocks upstairs at the jail.
Ideally, Edwards would like to have a total of 10 correctional officers. That is the number that was approved a while back by the Warren County Board. Edwards has been in that six to seven range before.
“We still can’t seem to get 10 people hired at one time,” he said. “It is difficult to find people who are well-qualified for the position. It is difficult to find them to fill the roles. You still have to be very selective in your hiring process, which means we can’t hire people with criminal records.”
Anyone interested in applying can drop off a written application at the Warren County Jail. Applicants should mention that they are applying for the position of correctional officer and have a standard application, which should include a name, work history and any arrests.
“We’ll take it from there,” Edwards said. “Those that make the first review, we’ll call them back for interviews.”
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