A recent trio of attempted escapes has the Franklin County Jail on lockdown as Sheriff Shannon Oliver and his staff review policy and protocol at the facility.
The lockdown status means no inmates are allowed to exit the facility, including work release inmates, trustees and litter crew workers. Visitation, which is done by video, has not been interrupted.
Three Red Bay men attempted escapes from the facility last week. One crawled through the ductwork, but managed only to get out of the building, not the secure yard. Two others are accused of crawling through a plumbing inspection vent in their attempt.
The three escape attempts are more than the rest of Oliver's tenure as sheriff combined.
“We had one in late 2014 attempt to break into the jail. With their type of charges, I don't understand their motivation to do that,” Oliver said. “It's created a huge amount of trouble for them.”
The inmates were housed on drug possession charges and one had walked off a work release job and violated probation, according to jail records.
The facility's population has increased this year, with more than 100 inmates presently on the jail roster.
Oliver said jail officials, along with other law enforcement agencies, conducted a shakedown of the jail Sunday in an effort to check for contraband.
“Nothing major was found but we decided with the reports coming in lately, we needed to be in lockdown for a period of time,” Oliver said.
Oliver said he would meet with jail officials after the Independence Day holiday.
“It's not going to be a permanent thing but for now, nobody is permitted to leave the facility,” Oliver added.
