CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Mecklenburg County’s Detention Center North has reopened to relieve critical jail overcrowding in Uptown. The first phase of the reopening transferred 209 inmates from the Central Jail to the program-focused North facility. Shifting these adults provides immediate relief, bu t Sheriff Garry McFadden warns critical staffing shortages continue to plague system operations. Jail staff deep-cleaned and prepared the north Charlotte facility themselves to speed up transfers. The building houses inmates in rehabilitation programs. While the move accelerates those rehabilitation opportunities, officials say it’ll also stretch critically understaffed shifts to the breaking point. McFadden says, “Today is a big celebration on one hand, but still sad on another because we still have over 200 people sleeping on, what most consider as, the floor. We definitely have to go back to the county, phase two, and ask for more funding and more funding for detention officers.” The sheriff expects Jail North to be fully operational by next summer, with plans to house juvenile inmates in a separate wing. The agency will seek continued funding from the county to recruit and retain detention personnel. ...read more read less