By Matthew Petrillo
WBTW
ROBESON COUNTY, NC — Late last year, North Carolina closed a state prison in Robeson County to save the state money.
But now it’s costing Robeson County. The prison it is one of five correctional facilities run by the state and recently shut down because North Carolina’s inmate population is decreasing and because the five facilities were expensive to upgrade.
Most of the guards found work in other parts of the Department of Corrections. The inmates once housed there, were also sent to other facilities. The inmates performed work for the county, typically handling the traffic control flagging operations for the Department of Transportation and worked in landfills, as well.
But with the loss of the inmates also came the loss of cheap labor, says Robeson County Commissioner Chairman Noah Woods.
“The county is suffering,” Woods says.
Full story: Robeson County “suffers” from state prison closure