After Closing Three Years Ago, The North Las Vegas Jail May Reopen

By Rachel Christiansen

Published March 12, 2015 at 12:48 PM PDT

Prison cell — The city of North Las Vegas is looking at reopening its jail after closing it for budget constraints three years ago.

City leaders in North Las Vegas are hoping to reopen the city’s jail. The jail closed in 2012 as a way to save money.

The city has been in dire financial straits for the past few years. In 2012, the city closed its jail and moved inmates to the city of Las Vegas jail in an agreement that is supposed to last five years.

According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the city of North Las Vegas and the city of Las Vegas will share the cost of a study into ways to better use the North Las Vegas jail and improve the jail-sharing agreement between the two cities.

So do plans to re-open the jail mean North Las Vegas has turned the corner economically?

Ryann Juden is the chief of staff to the North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee told KNPR’s State of Nevada that the jail would only be reopened if it is a more efficient use of tax dollars.

“Now it’s important to step back and take a better look at it,” Juden said.

He said it was part of an effort by Mayor Lee to find opportunities to be more efficient.

The city is still in a budget deficit.

Ryann Juden, chief of staff, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee