Detention Facility

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601-482-9801

The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office maintains a long-term detention facility authorized to house 290 inmates. The agency operates three shifts per day with 15 Detention Officers on A Shift, 15 on B Shift, and 13 on C Shift to cover 12 pods, 144 holding cells, four special needs cells, one medical area cell, and one suicide prevention cell.  All processing, booking, and testing occur within this secured facility. Each new detention officer of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office requires a certification with the Board on Jail Officer Standards and Training state course and complete 96 hours of the State of Mississippi Standards and Training Jail Board mandated basic training.  Also, the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office requires all detention officers to complete annual in-service training.

Major Melissa McCarter

601-482-9896

Major Melissa McCarter began her career with the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office/Detention Facility, December 2003. In July 2005, she received a promotion to corporal and shortly after that, to sergeant in October of the same year. In 2007 Major McCarter resigned to pursue a career as a certified Law Enforcement Officer at St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana, in 2007. In 2009 she moved back to Meridian where she re-joined the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office as Captain of the Detention Facility, faithfully leading as the in-jail command, until her promotion to Major/Jail Commander in 2016, while maintaining her law enforcement certification. Major McCarter directs and oversees all administrative, operational, and personnel matters of the Lauderdale County Detention Facility.

Shift Leaders 

Lt. Miria Rainey A-Shift	Lt. Jodi Dowdy   B-Shift
Lt. Elizabeth Robinson C- Shift
Sgt. Katisha Smith A-Shift	Sgt. Thomas Marshall B-Shift
Sgt. Randy Cox C-Shift

Jail Support