POLKTON — Brown Creek Correctional Institution and Lanesboro Correctional Institution will merge later this summer.
Brown Creek’s medium-custody prison will be used for about 350 minimum-custody inmates from Lanesboro, according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Both prisons will then operate as Lanesboro Correctional Institution with about 1,000 inmates in close custody, 500 in medium custody and 350 in minimum custody.
According to the department’s website, Lanesboro currently has an inmate capacity of 1,400 and a staff of 514 while Brown Creek can hold up to 1,204 inmates and has a staff of 373.
The merge will decrease both the number of prisoners and prison staff in Anson County.
“The total number of state prison inmates housed in Anson County will drop from about 2,300 to about 1,850 supervised by about 630 employees, down from about 880,” the release said. “This smaller number of prison employees in the county is more closely aligned with the available local workforce.”
The 250 employees who are cut will not be laid off.
“Some Brown Creek employees will remain to operate the new minimum-security facility,” the release said. “Others will transfer or be eligible to compete for promotion into positions at Lanesboro’s medium- or close-custody operations or two state prisons in surrounding counties.”
Other prisons are seeing changes, as well, state officials say.
“The state prison system is currently re-missioning its facilities across the state in order to better provide for the treatment and rehabilitative needs of the inmate population and to align missions with prison facilities and local communities best suited to support these missions,” the release said.
The minimum-custody section will house Lanesboro’s minimum-custody inmates while the Brown Creek unit that was the former Anson Correctional Center will also be used, according to the release.
The department said that minimum-custody inmates will continue to have employment opportunities through the work release program and that jobs on prison property will be retained.
“Correction Enterprises will continue to operate its Metal Products plant onsite, providing jobs for 40 to 60 inmates and producing metal goods like stainless steel kitchen equipment, park benches, picnic tables and custom metal products,” the release said.
Brown Creek opened in 1993 and Lanesboro opened in 2004. The prisons are adjacent to each other on Prison Camp Road in Polkton.
Lanesboro has been in the news several times before due to accusations of inmate and staff misconduct. In January, a guard was arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle tobacco and heroin to an inmate. An inmate died in an apparent suicide by hanging in April.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.