LAURENS CO. — The Laurens County Sheriff's Office is getting ready to see some big renovations.
Some of the work to upgrade the jail has already started and the people who work at the jail are looking forward to a new look.
The Laurens County Jail off Southern Pines Road was built in 1991, and Sheriff Larry Dean says it hasn't been renovated since.
"Like any other county, we are on a budget," Dean said.
Laurens County Commissioners have set aside $1 million in SPLOST money to help expand the jail from three segregation cells to 21 segregation units.
"The problem nowadays is we have so many gangs and people with mental illnesses, we have to keep them segregated, so the purpose of the new cells is to keep them segregated," Dean said.
Dean says they have members of at least five gangs in the jail and to keep the peace they have to keep them separated.
The new segregation units will also be used by people under the influence to detox from drugs in their system.
The jail will also see a new booking room for inmates, a bright coat of paint, bathrooms in all of the cells, and a new employee break room.
Kyle Melton has been working at the jail for two years and says all these new renovations will make him and his co-workers feel safer.
"Places to put people [and] a bigger jail would be good for us," Melton said.
Dean says when he got the funds to fix the jail, he called up his deputies to get their ideas about their workplace.
"This is your chance -- design a jail that would be most effective for bringing in people to make it as easy and convenient for you and the jail staff," Dean said.
The jail also got 12 new Tasers, which cost $90,000 of SPLOST money, according to Dean.