A recent job posting for superintendent at the Riverside Regional Jail, near Petersburg in Prince George County, is attracting the attention of a bipartisan group of legislators. That and a news conference held Monday aimed to highlight a facility linked to multiple jurisdictions that's facing mounting troubles.
“Riverside, it's just as easy to find drugs in there as it is on the streets,” said Austin Wells. At 27, he’s been in and out of Riverside Regional Jail since he was 18.
His last stint in the facility left him hooked on drugs, and that drug abuse, and the overdoses that follow, are among the problems Petersburg-area Senator Lashrecse Aird said must be addressed at the beleaguered facility.
“There is no reason that an institution should be a death sentence when it is intended to be a rehabilitation environment,” Aird said.
Aird, joined by Chesterfield Delegate Carrie Coyner and other elected officials, all pointed to annual reports from the state which showed Riverside has higher deficiency rates as well as the highest numbers of reported deaths among comparable facilities.
Seven people detained there died in 2021 and four died in 2022.
Over 1,000 people are incarcerated at Riverside. Seven localities use the facility.
Coyner said they’ll be watching how the hiring process and the local board management goes in the future. She warns the legislature may have to examine the regional jail system more broadly.
“You open them because you’re unable to staff and handle your own jail, but you have to be willing to manage the regional jail as if it was your own and it hasn’t happened historically,” Coyner said.
In local reporting following the initial release of the state report, the Riverside Regional Jail Authority, which manages this facility, said criticisms were overblown and it had passed recent state and federal audits.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
