Pinellas County will not move jail inmates from evacuation zone

While a mandatory evacuation order is in effect for residents in Zone A ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival Thursday, the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office does plan to move inmates from the overcrowded jail that sits within a flood prone area.

If low-lying areas of the jail flood, inmates will be moved to upper floors, spokesperson Amanda Sinni told the Tampa Bay Times in an email. She said additional staffers will help but that “we do not anticipate the need to evacuate any inmates in the jail.”

County officials announced a mandatory evacuation on Wednesday for the 339,000 people living in Zone A, which includes low-lying and flood-prone areas along the county’s coastlines and some inland areas as well as all mobile home parks. The jail sits in this zone at 49th Street North near Clearwater.

The evacuation order was made in response to the projected 5 to 8 feet of storm surge, which would be a record for Pinellas. Emergency management director Cathie Perkins said water could stay high for 24 to 36 hours, posing a major threat even after winds recede.

The jail now has 3,104 inmates, according to Sinni. That’s well above the 2,915 beds the jail has.

The overcrowding is due largely to a state bail reform law that went into effect in January, which tightened rules to release someone before trial and made it more costly in some instances for defendants to get out on bond, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said last month.

As the jail ran out of beds in recent months, inmates have slept on hundreds of mattresses that are held a few inches from the ground by plastic frames.

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