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By MARY K. BLEWITT
Arundel Newspapers State Writer
The barred doors at Prince Wilham-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center serve two functions. They not only keep prisoners in, but now they also keep prisoners out. After being sued by an inmate in the fall of 1988, the prison is under a federal consent decree that requires it to shut its doors if its inmate population reaches 402. Since April of 1989, when the decree first went into effect, the prison has been closed about 20 times, according to Col. Glen Hill, but never for more that three hours at a time.
With a bed capacity of 175, the detention center averages 380 inmates, said Hill. However, despite the prison s nearly double capacity, Hill considers the inmate population to be “manageable.” In a sense, the consent decree has made the situation easier for those at Prince William.
Other counties and cities around -Virginia, however, are facing the same crowding problems.
“It’s all over,” said Sheriff Ashby Olinger of Fauquier County. “All over the state, all over the country. ”
Fauquier County’s jail, whose bed capacity is 48, averages about 70 inmates every day, according to Olinger. At night, mattresses and cots are placed on the cement floor to provide for the additional prisoners — a common practice in many local jails. Most counties in the Northern Virginia region report that they are at, or near, double capacity daily.
As a result, area jails work together to house inmates. Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren counties have a regional jail system, sharing the burden of packed prisons. Warren County houses only male inmates. Clarke houses only female inmates.
“We have two females in Loudoun County jail now,” explained Sheriff Dale A. Gardner. “Warren County is holding two males for Loudoun County. We farm things out among jurisdictions as best we can.” Transporting prisoners, though, can become costly. Counties such as Fairfax and Loudoun have full-time officers assigned solely to transportation.
“We’ve got people on the road all ' of the time” reports Sheriff Wayne ; M. Huggins bf Fairfax County. Juveniles, who require special fa■ cilities, hit the localities the hardest. Sheriffs in the upper part of the • state related that it is not uncommon for them to transport juveniles as far i as Petersburg, Lynchburg or Dan•. ville. ■- “Last summer, the juveniles t were about to run us to death,” said ~ Sheriff John Henry Woodward of - Rappahannock County. Despite regional cooperation, ; area sheriffs report the jails remain . crowded. “We are always full,” said Gard. ner. With a bed capacity of 10,
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