PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth's city council voted to close the city jail, which will eventually move the inmates to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. It was close 4-3 vote to shut down the city jail.
In the resolution the jail is expected to close around August 15, 2020.
Council members shared their different viewpoints on this issue.
"We're talking about closing the jail down and displacing all these people. I hear the leaders on our team are talking about we don't have a plan for that yet. We'll get to that later excuse me," said Councilman Shannon Glover.
"There are other positions; we're currently down 53 police officers in the City of Portsmouth so I would encourage any of those deputies to apply for those positions," said Councilman Nathan Clark.
Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore also expressed that about 200 people may lose their jobs, including deputies and civilians. Another major debate is the cost to repair the jail.
"You've falsely stated to repair the jail it would be upwards of $31 million. That's not true, our estimate is $200,000 or less," said Sheriff Moore.
Clark disagreed.
"I don't know where the $200,000 came from. The $31 to $47 million is what we received on the reports from the outside companies that did the inspections," replied Clark.
Clark mentioned the city does not have the money to afford the repairs.