Chatham County Jail & Detention Ctr

In 1988 the Chatham County Detention Center opened off of Chatham Parkway and in 1989 it became necessary to expand that facility to handle the volume of inmates we were receiving. It became apparent that we would have to design and construct a facility that would accommodate the amount of inmates that were being brought to our facility. Construction began on a facility next to the Detention Center that was a state of the art facility. We moved into the Chatham County Sheriff's Complex in 1993 and the Detention Center was tied in to make up the 5 unit facility. The building boasted a 1224 bed that was supposed to handle the inmate population without fear of overcrowding until the year 2010. Unfortunately we have at or over capacity since 1999 which has led to our office dseeking alternatives to incarceration.