NEW ORLEANS -- It is finally opening day for the new jail in New Orleans. Sheriff Marlin Gusman's deputies began transferring inmates to the new facility Monday morning.
This comes as he and Mayor Mitch Landrieu continue their disputes over the issue.
"We are moving into the 21st century," Gusman said. "We're moving out of complexes, buildings that are outmoded, outdated, and this is a new day."
Prisoner transfer buses moved inmates from the old jail to the new, $145 million FEMA-funded lockup Monday morning. All but one of the old jail buildings are closing.
"Decades overdue. So this is what a modern pretrial jail is supposed to be," said the Metro Crime Commission's Rafael Goyeneche.
"Better work environment, better custody environment, and a place where really we can help people," added Gusman.
Though designed for 1,434 beds, spokesmen say current prison standards allow only 1150 or so, which means it will pretty much be full when the transfers are complete.
Metro Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche spoke about the feud between Landrieu and Gusman over the transfer some inmates to north Louisiana, and the demand for another building to house prisoners who are mentally ill.
"The two public officials need to sit down and solve this problem," said Goyeneche. "There has been no willingness to compromise, and there's I think some easy compromises on this."
Expect tighter security at the new jail, with 800 surveillance cameras and three body scanners for inmates and employees. Visitors won't sit face-to-face with inmates, but in another building by video, with conversations being monitored by the guards.
And then there's Dex the dog. He's not a mascot, but he has $12,500 in training to detect cell phones, which are banned in the jail.
"You don't want people running their operations from inside, so if they lob a phone over or somehow they get a phone inside, we need to be able to detect it and shut it down," said businessman John Casbon, who paid for Dex's training.
It is expected to take much of the week to complete the inmate transfer to what is now being called the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office Correctional Complex.
