The Winston-Choctaw County Regional Correctional Facility, located on Hwy. 25 North, which has the capacity to house almost 380 inmates, is operating at a high level, according to Warden Neal Higgason.
The facility, which is accredited by the American Corrections Association, is audited every four years; the audit looks at both the physical facility as well as files which show how well the prison is meeting more than 500 different standards.
In their last audit the facility scored 99.2%, missing only one standard, and Higgason stated that there was some dispute concerning that one, it being access to library facilities. The next audit is due next spring.
The facility which contracts with the Mississippi Dept. of Corrections (MDOC), signed a new five-year contract this past October. At that time, the facility was paid for, and the original 20 year contract came to an end.
The prison has the capacity for housing up to 280 state inmates; there are also 20 beds for state inmates who qualify for work programs, and 80 beds for pre-trial inmates.
The prison serves Winston and Choctaw Counties, the cities of Louisville, Noxapater and Ackerman, and also takes in overflow from Oktibbeha, Starkville, Philadelphia and Neshoba County, if there is available room.
Higgason stated that the State pays the County for every state inmate they house, and this is the major source of funding for the facility.
He added that the County’s jail budget is a fraction of what it actually costs to operate it, and the facility is operating in the black.
Concerning staffing, Higgason said that he has a great staff which remains at a steady level for the most part. He added that they have run into a situation, where if they are one man short, it puts them in a bad spot.
Higgason also stated that contraband is not a big problem at the prison, as they are required, by MDOC, to perform shakedowns on a monthly basis, adding that tobacco is the biggest problem they see, as it can be obtained fairly inexpensively.
Drug use is controlled doing random drug tests on a regular basis, and there has been only one failure in recent months.
Higgason added that the major benefits of the Correctional Facility are the 40 full time jobs, and the fact that the state pays for all or almost all of the facility’s cost.
