$5.8 million jail project helps keep up with growth

Friday, Dec. 21, 2001 | 9:15 a.m.

A $5.8 million expansion of the North Las Vegas jail will become home to local and federal prisoners beginning Jan. 2.

The 400-prisoner capacity dormitory, a result of a partnership between federal law enforcement agencies and the city, was dedicated to corrections officers Thursday night.

Department of Justice grants paid for the new facility, in exchange for 350 beds for federal prisoners being held by U.S. marshals or the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Corrections Capt. Dan Lake said.

"The jail gets $62 a day for each federal inmate that we house, and that makes a big difference in our operating budget," Lake said. "We also needed the space. With the growth we're seeing in North Las Vegas, I wouldn't mind having another building just like it."

The 36,102-square-foot dormitory has 100 cells divided by a command area for corrections officers. Currently, the jail holds 600 inmates, but the new building will bump the capacity to 750, Lake said.

"The net gain is only 150 beds because we're going to convert one of the older buildings into storage areas, training rooms and an inmate education center," Lake said.

The new building, known as "Charlie dorm," includes an activity room that jail officials hope to use as an area in which inmates can work toward getting graduate equivalency diplomas and take courses in anger management and English as a second language.

"This is going to be an incentive dorm," Jail Population Manager Paul Gillenwater said. "Those with behavior problems won't be in here, and won't be able to participate in the programs we're going to offer."