STAFF REPORT :::
According to a press release issued by Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, personnel from his office, the Griffin Police Department and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, Jan. 4, conducted a search of the Spalding County Detention Facility.
This joint exercise – named Operation Jail Storm – was conducted to locate and remove contraband inside the facility. The operation began at 9:30 a.m. and concluded at 3 p.m.
The following items were located during the search:
Five homemade weapons, spray bottles with chemicals, metal panels and covers, wires, broken light fixtures, medical cups with lids, trash bags, rubber gloves, plastic bottles, various forms of jewelry, chipped glass, wood chips, printer toner, home made pictures, cigarette lighters, a broken chair, 35 pills, safety pins, fingernail clippers, bleach, paperclips, broken bins, broken cable box, broken glasses, cups, metal parts of the intercom, various forms of non-issued clothing and linens and a homemade cooler filled with urine.
“Contraband searches are important to the security of the facility because inmates will take normal items issued to them and make weapons to attack deputies and other inmates. The removal of this contraband greatly reduces risk of injuries in the facility,” stated Jail administrator, Capt. Robert Sowell, who added, “This search gives us a baseline as far as the amount of contraband in the facility and lets the inmates know what behaviors will not be tolerated while they are incarcerated.”
The success of this operation can be attributed to the joint effort of all three departments working together. Dix would like to thank Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, the staff of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Mike Yates and his staff at the Griffin Police Department for their assistance in this important operation.
