Mecklenburg Juvenile Detention Center

We sit down with Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden to discuss jail overcrowding, deaths in custody, cooperation with immigration enforcement officials, the need for a juvenile detention facility, and lawsuits and investigations involving the operation of the county jail.

North Carolina and Mecklenburg County officials are looking to reopen Mecklenburg County’s juvenile detention center, also known as Jail North, as soon as this summer.

Last week, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced he is running for reelection. That announcement follows a year of controversy with high-profile resignations, criticisms from staff members and how McFadden dealt with ICE. McFadden has insisted he is following the law when it comes to ICE cooperation and denies accusations by former staff members. Sheriff McFadden joins us to talk about that and more.

Until recently, about 55 teenagers were typically confined at a juvenile detention center in north Charlotte. Around 40 of them were from Mecklenburg County. They were close to family, their lawyers and courts for hearings. Now, there are zero.