CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County’s Jail North could once again welcome inmates nearly four years after it closed.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden plans to make the case on Tuesday night to county commissioners.
Chairman Mark Jerrell, D-Mecklenburg, says he is looking forward to hearing plans.
“I believe there’s a problem at Jail Central with overcrowding, which is what brings Jail North into play,” Jerrell said.
The average daily population in the current jail has jumped from just under 1,500 in July 2025 to more than 2,100 now.
Since Iryna’s Law took effect, the average daily population of the jail is the highest since 2008, when the sheriff’s office managed three facilities, the sheriff said. Iryna’s Law is a North Carolina criminal justice reform law that ends cashless bail and tightens pretrial release rules for violent and repeat offenders.
Phase 1 of reopening Jail North on Statesville Road will add 224 beds with a cost of $3.2 million. Officials said that $2.9 million of that is expected to be covered by state and federal sources. McFadden plans to formally ask for the budget amendment Tuesday night.
“I think from a board perspective, this really leads us to thinking about not reactionary measures, but what are the other controls and elements that we need to put into place to address crime,” Jerrell said.
Jail North passed an inspection last week, and existing, budgeted staff will work at the facility when it reopens.
Jerrell hopes McFadden doesn’t stop there and once again works to house juvenile offenders at the campus.
“We want to keep them as close to home as possible,” Jerrell said. “Having them four or five hours across the state away from their families is not an ideal solution by any stretch.”
There is no timeline yet for when Jail North may reopen. The sheriff said on Monday in a statement that once the budget amendment is passed, he will finalize the hiring agreements with his partners.
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