. Orange County's Detention Facility
125 Court Street, Hillsborough NC  Phone (919) 644 -3050

The Detention Center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Lt. M. Lankford and Lt. W. Turner supervise detention facility operations.  
Shift Supervisors are:
Sgt. T. Crawford  Sgt. S. Borland  Sgt. R. Thompson  Sgt. S. Riley

About the Orange County Detention Center

The Orange County Detention Center (Jail) is located at 125 Court Street, in Hillsborough. Originally built in 1925, the Jail housed 38 inmates. It is still in operation today.  In 1980 the Jail's interior was remodeled. New floors and 8 new cells were installed. Since 1982 much needed major renovations, and additions to the Jail have all been paid for by Federal funding, through the US Marshal’s Office. In 1992 a 2 million dollar grant, from the U.S. Marshal’s Office, helped with an additional 62 beds. Orange County's Detention Center, now, has beds for 138 inmates.

The Detention Facility houses all persons entrusted to the custody of the Sheriff from:
                            1. The courts
                            2. All law enforcement agencies within the county 
                            3. The U.S. Federal Marshal's Office; temporary Federal assignees (prisoners).

The Sheriff’s Detention Division is responsible for the total operation of the Detention Facility and is charged with providing a safe, secure, and clean environment for persons committed there.

·         Physical checks, of each inmate, every fifteen minutes

·         Receiving and sending inmate's mail

·         Making sure inmates get to court on their assigned court date

·         Providing three nutritious meals each day
Three cooks diligently prepare all meals for the inmates, three times a day, except on Sunday nights, when we serve sandwiches with fruit. Last year, over 190,000 hot meals were prepared for the inmates.  In 1982 we applied to the federal government for surplus food supplies and were approved.  Since then we have been receiving food allotment every four months or three times a year.

·         Dispensing to inmates their medications

o        A full time nurse practitioner is on staff to take care of inmate's medical problems. If an inmate requires hospitalization, the inmate is transported to UNC-Hospital, in Chapel Hill.

·         Conducting and monitoring visitations by family and friends.

·         Proper personal hygiene by inmates is encouraged with issuance of clean clothing twice a week. 

The required duties have to be documented by Detention Division members, and is the reason for large amounts of paperwork. On average, the County Detention Center houses 150 to 170 inmates daily.  Sixty (60%) percent of these inmates are Federal prisoners. Currently we have 42 Detention Division members that are Detention Deputies and/or Sworn Deputies assigned to 4, 12 hour shifts. These members work a rotating shift, with an average of 8 officers on each shift.

Inmate and visitation information Visitation for State inmates is on Saturdays from 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM. Visitation for Federal inmates is on Sunday from 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM. On Saturday of each week, each inmate, both Federal and State, submits a list to our Detention Staff with the names of four persons whom they wish to see during visitation. Persons on the inmate's list and only those persons, will be allowed to visit, after providing photo identification.   Visitation procedures can be obtained by clicking here

Orange County Jail     November 1953