HRRJ HISTORY
The Hampton Roads Regional Jail opened in March 1998 and has been in continuous operation since that time. The five member jurisdictions choose which inmates are sent to the Regional Jail and to a great extent they are inmates with medical, mental health, or disciplinary problems.
While it originally was established to house general overcrowding, it has since evolved into managing inmates with medical and mental health issues or disciplinary problems. The two-story structure is divided into three separate and distinct housing units. The housing units are at the corners of a large central rectangular area, which contains the kitchen, laundry, intake area, command center, training area, classification, administration, and health services.
In March 2018, the Hampton Roads Regional Jail celebrated its twentieth anniversary of providing services to its member cities. The establishment of the Regional Jail has been an outstanding success, and it is fulfilling its basic purpose of reducing overcrowding in the four member city jails. The contribution provided by the Regional Jail, however, is much greater than simply holding approximately 1300 inmates from the member city jails. This is because the Regional Jail houses a disproportionately large number of inmates who are difficult to manage. The Regional Jail houses the majority of the inmates from the five jurisdictions with severe medical and mental health needs and essentially serves as the medical and mental health correctional facility for the member cities. Significantly more difficult and overcrowded conditions would exist in the facilities of the five member jurisdictions today were it not for the establishment of the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.
