March 31, 2015
W.Va. jail
official named interim head of regional jail system
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – David Farmer was
named interim executive director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and
Correctional Facility Authority (RJA) on Tuesday by Military Affairs and Public
Safety Secretary Joe Thornton, acting in consultation with the agency’s board
chairman.
Farmer, who has risen through the ranks
at RJA since joining the agency in February 2002, will administer the 10-jail
system pending the selection of a permanent executive director by the
authority’s board. It next meets on April 8. Farmer replaces Joe DeLong, who
stepped down Tuesday.
Farmer began his career with RJA as director
of Inmate Services at the South Central Regional Jail, in Kanawha County. He
was appointed administrator of the South Western Regional Jail, in Logan
County, in December 2011. He became RJA’s deputy chief of operations and the
director of its training academy in August 2014.
“As deputy chief of operations over the
past eight months, David has shown a great deal of leadership. I believe he has
proven himself capable of leading RJA while the board searches for a full-time
director,” Thornton said. “I am confident that David will continue to work hard
and manage a high level of commitment that is necessary for RJA to operate
efficiently.”
Part of the Department of Military
Affairs and Public Safety, RJA has more than 1,140 correctional officers and
other full-time employees and a $100 million annual budget. The agency does not
receive general tax revenues, but instead relies chiefly on per-day fees paid
for housing inmates. The 10-jail system currently houses around 4,200 inmates.
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