LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After months of problems including eight deaths of inmates since November, the new head of Louisville's jail is already making big changes.
Jerry Collins officially took over as director of Louisville Metro Corrections on April 4 and has already made several changes he believes will begin to correct some of the issues that have been plaguing the jail.
On Wednesday, Collins explained that a new body scanner is creating a vastly superior mechanism for detecting drugs before they come into the jail.
"In this upcoming budget there will be more money for more body scanners," Collins said. "Those have AI technology so if one person comes through and it picks up something, the next person that comes through it will show up."
Collins also told council members that all officers will be equipped with "safety shears" that would allow them to cut down a person who tried to hang themselves. Earlier this year, an inmate died after officers were unable to cut the person down with a "dull" tool, according to the jail.
Collins told councilmembers that all previous members of the command staff are no longer in their positions. He said he has also hired a forensic psychologist to "address officer wellness and inmate wellness and evaluate our mental health programs."
A slew of investigations remain ongoing into the causes of the inmate deaths and how they can be prevented in the future.
Former director Dwayne Clark announced his retirement in mid-March as the investigations mounted.
Collins is a U.S. Army veteran who previously worked for Metro Corrections for more than two decades before retiring in October 2021. He then took command of the Clark County, Indiana, jail before taking his current role.
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