Scotland Correctional Institution, one of the largest prisons in North Carolina, will be adding to its population with inmates displaced by Hurricane Helene. Photo: Google Earth
The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction reports that is has successfully transferred 2,190 incarcerated people from prisons in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
While the prisons themselves were not flooded, water and electrical utilities that serve the facilities and the communities around them were severely damaged and are expected to take weeks or months to repair, according to DAC spokesperson Keith Acree.
“When it became apparent that power and water outages would be very long-term, we made the decision to move,” said Acree. “We knew we could not continue on generator power and bottled water for an extended period.”
The agency activated its incident command post before the storm and staffed it with personnel from across the state. Relocating thousands of inmates in just three and a half days was a complex logistical undertaking, but the agency had experience with evacuations from past storms.
“Moving large numbers of people out on many buses over mountain roads in a disaster area took a great deal of time and caution,” Acree said. “Travel routes were vetted by the Department of Transportation and State Highway Patrol to ensure they were safe and passable. DAC posted additional staff along the routes for safety purposes while exiting the disaster areas.”
Space was the primary factor considered when relocating inmates to other prisons. The agency said it also took into account the medical needs of each inmate to ensure they could receive appropriate care at their new location.
The cost of relocating the 2,190 people — roughly 7% of the state’s total inmate population — is not yet known. Acree said the agency is still calculating the expenses incurred during the evacuation process, which included overtime pay for staff, fuel costs for transportation, and hotel accommodation for staff who were temporarily relocated to other parts of the state.
The transfers come at a difficult time for the prison system. In April, NC Newsline reported that about 39% of correctional officer jobs in North Carolina prisons were vacant. How receiving facilities will be able to absorb such a large influx of inmates and whether DAC will be transferring staff from the shuttered facilities was not immediately clear.
Some of the facilities receiving new inmates have been the subject of previous complaints about conditions and overcrowding. In September of 2023, NC Newsline reported that one such facility — Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg — was the subject of a dire complaint by a prison staff member who described the situation inside in grim terms.
The relocations are expected to last until utility repairs are completed, which could presumably take an extended period.
The five affected prisons are Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine, the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women, the Craggy Correctional Center in Asheville, Mountain View Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine, and the Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa. The department maintains an offender locator website that it said is being regularly updated.
The legislature is set to reconvene next week to vote on an initial disaster package, according to joint statement by House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. “The General Assembly is preparing to come back next week to vote on an initial disaster relief package to facilitate the state’s response to Hurricane Helene. We are still working to determine what needs to be included in that legislation. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims of this storm and those who have lost loved ones, as well as the aid workers, volunteers, and rescue teams supporting the region.”
Yesterday, top education officials made an initial legislative request for $166 million to pay staff salaries and fund repairs and renovations in school districts.
It’s not clear at this time whether the Department of Adult Correction will be a part of any forthcoming relief package.