Lack of Jail Space Hampers Federal Authorities
in Southwest Virginia

Roanoke, VA - Jail space to house federal prisoners nationwide has become a critical need for the country’s oldest law enforcement agency, the U.S. Marshals Service. As the number of detainees soars nationally, southwest Virginia is feeling the pinch as well. The U.S. Marshals Service, as well as other federal agencies, are being told by local and state governments that they have no room to house federal prisoners. Recent attempts to negotiate a contract with the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Board have failed and the Jail Authority has opted not to provide jail services to federal inmates.

“This dilemma creates a severe burden on our already down-sized staffing situation and places our deputies and the public in danger as federal prisoners are transported extensive distances just to find housing,” said Wayne Pike, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Virginia. The federal prisoners who are being tried in the Abingdon and Big Stone Gap divisions are being housed 145 miles away in Roanoke and are being transported daily for court appearances. “This situation not only creates a security nightmare, but the taxpayers must pick up the tab on increased labor costs and fuel bills to move these prisoners back and forth,” added Pike.

Many of the jails that the Marshals Service contracted with in southwest Virginia have closed since the state adopted the regional jail concept. This concept severely limits the abilities of federal law enforcement to ensure that our streets and communities are safer. Nationwide, the Marshals Service maintains custody of more than 55,000 federal inmates, most housed in local jails who provide contract services to the federal government. Last year, the Marshals Service in the Western District of Virginia paid local jails more than seven million dollars to house federal prisoners. On average, the Western District of Virginia maintains custody of approximately 400 federal prisoners each day.

The loss of these jails and the inability to negotiate contracts with the Regional Jail Authorities puts the federal law enforcement agencies behind the 8-ball and severely hampers the administration of justice. With the increase in man hours, transportation, and the workload created by the lack of jail space, many of the benefits returned to state and local coffers will suffer. Revenue returned from equitable sharing in drug cases and possible federal grants to localities will be redirected to absorb the costs created by having to house federal prisoners elsewhere. In the end, the taxpayers are the biggest losers of all in that they have to foot the bill without any return for their investment.

As deputy marshals spend more time transporting prisoners to and from court over these great distances, the Blue Ridge Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (BRFAST) task force will suffer due to a lack of manpower created by the jail bed space shortage.

The Blue Ridge Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team task force was formed by the Marshals Service in 2004 as a joint federal, state and local law enforcement endeavor to pursue and arrest dangerous fugitives wanted at the international, national and state level thereby making our communities safer for our citizens and our children. To date, the BRFAST has cleared more than 200 federal arrest warrants and more than 500 state arrest warrants.

The Marshals Service is our nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency founded in 1789. U.S. Marshals and their deputies are responsible for providing protection to the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. In fiscal year 2005, the Marshals Service apprehended more than 35,500 federal fugitives, more than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined.

In addition, while working with authorities at the state and local levels, Marshals Service led fugitive task forces arrested an additional 44,000 state and local fugitives. More on the U.S. Marshals and the historic Western District of Virginia can be found at www.usmarshals.gov by clicking on Local District Offices.