Pender County Sheriff’s Office provides update to commissioners on new law enforcement center

PENDER COUNTY (WWAY) –A presentation made by law enforcement to the Pender County Commissioners on Thursday provided the latest update for a new law enforcement center.

Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler said the facility is much needed after the presentation.

“The new facility is consisting of 95,000 square foot. It consists of a detention center, a 911 center and a law enforcement center. The detention center will have 232 beds with room for expansion in the future,” Cutler said.

The current jail was built in the 1970s and the county adding an addition to it in 2001. The county has thought about building a new facility for at least a decade, but things finally got off the ground recently.

“We would be able to house more individuals in our new detention center. It would save the county on out of county housing those costs per day and also in maintenance upkeep of the building,” Cutler explained.

A complete design should be ready this May, bidding for construction in June, and a ground breaking happening in January of next year. It is scheduled to be completed in September 2026.