According to Greene County sheriff Jack Williams, state jail inspectors called the new Greene County jail as one of the best designed jails they’ve seen. Williams and ISG architects didn’t copy another jail, but instead visited five different jails and took ideas from each one.
The new jail, tucked behind the Law Enforcement Center in the 1000 block of E. Lincoln Way in Jefferson, will be open for public tours Friday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 6 pm, and Saturday, Aug. 29, from 8 am to noon. Those will be the only tours for the public, as inmates will be moved to the facility Aug. 30.
There are two entrances to the jail. Members of the public will enter on the north side. Beyond the office area is a visitors area. Persons will not have face-to-face visits with inmates, but can use the telephone system (left photo, on the right) to talk with inmates. Persons who have been arrested will enter the jail through a sally port (right photo). The sally port is large enough for two patrol vehicles and two ambulances. The sally port is designed so that the doors open only for vehicles, and the vehicle doors remained locked unless both overhead doors are closed.
Arrested persons will go to a holding cell (below, left) until their booking is completed. There are two holding cells. Each can accommodate up to eight persons. Inmates will meet with their attorneys through secure glass (below, right)
There are six cells with two beds each for male inmates; four more beds can be added (below). Inmates have access to books, cards and puzzles. State Code requires they have access to television. Four channels are available to them – the History channel, another educational channel, a faith-based channel, and a weather channel. Unbreakable windows high on the cell walls admit daylight, another state requirement.
Jailers will monitor inmates using both audio and video equipment. Locks on the cells are also activated from the work station (below, left). Inmates will be locked in their cells before meals are brought in. Staffing the jail has been a challenge for Williams in the past. He said he’s received more applications for jailer positions in the past three months than in the previous 10 years. Dispatchers will also have more workspace and will be able to assist jailers in monitoring inmates (pictured, right)
The office of chief deputy/jail administrator Nathanial Chapman is near walk-in entrance to the jail.
Voters approved the necessary tax levy for the jail in the Nov. 2023 election. Bonds were sold for the $10.9 million project in Nov. 2024 and ground was broken in March 2025. Construction cost less than expected, with final cost at $10,050,000, and three months earlier than planned.
