Avoyelles Detention Center in Bunkie closed; inmates moved to Marksville

By GARLAND FORMAN
Co-Editor
It has a been a rumor for a couple of weeks but on Friday, February 24, the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office closed Avoyelles Detention Center #2 in Bunkie. The last of the inmates were transferred out of the prison at 5 p.m. on Friday and a letter was sent to the 50 employees working at the facility,

Sheriff Doug Anderson said the prison was closed due to three reasons.

The first was a significant decline of the male population from the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC) that has affected the APSO budget.

Second, was the increase cost of prescribed offender medical treatment in addition to the continuous budgetary strain of maintaining and operating an aged correctional facility.

Third, was due to decreased funding, it was no longer prudent to continue the staffing, upkeep and maintenance on a facility that is in constant need of repair given the reduced revenue.

When asked if the escape of three inmates the week before speeded up the process to close the facility, the sheriff said no because the decision to close the facility had been on going for months. All three escapees have been recaptured, with the last one caught by the U.S. Marshals on Friday, February 24.

In recent years, the state’s priority was the incarceration of inmates, according to the sheriff. Now, the state is concentrating on rehabilitation and early release of DOC inmates. APSO has lost 144 DOC inmates recently who were put back into a DOC facility instead of the parish prisons.

More of the closing can be found in the March 2 issue of the Marksville Weekly News and Bunkie Record.