Southwest Virginia Regional Jails

Regional jails have proven to be an efficient means of relieving overcrowding, and they provide an opportunity for construction cost sharing among partners.

The Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority serves the Virginia counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Wise, as well as the City of Norton. Developed to serve southwest Virginia, the multi-jurisdictional regional jail system consists of four jail facilities that house both male and female inmates.

Each facility has an infrastructure that can accommodate a 50% increase in bed capacity through the addition of future housing units. Shockey recently completed renovations and additions at three of the four locations, and a total of 512 new beds were added.

The multi-site project was delivered under Virginia’s Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA).