The first privately run detention facility for illegal immigrants in Virginia, the Farmville Detention Center has proven to be a valuable tool for the Commonwealth’s law enforcement. It exists to provide detention services to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that holds a contract with the town of Farmville for the detention center. Located in the geographical heart of Central Virginia, the Farmville Detention Center sits about 60 miles southwest of Richmond, on the outskirts of the town of Farmville.
The Farmville Detention Center is an important, cost effective alternative to standard incarceration and detention of detainees for the Commonwealth, as well as for ICE on a national level. ICA-Farmville saves U.S. taxpayers money by providing services at a rate considerably lower than the national average. ICA-Farmville provides a cost saving, effective transportation system to ICE as well for movement of detainees throughout the Commonwealth and adds millions of dollars per year to the local economy of Farmville through the creation of more than 240 jobs. While VSA members are not free to transport qualifying detainees directly to ICA-Farmville, the facility benefits sheriffs statewide as it greatly reduces the holding time illegal immigrants spend in local and regional jails. In addition, the facility is better equipped to handle the cultural issues involving illegal immigrants and their families than are jails in many regions of the state.
As a detention center, ICA-Farmville provides a level of services to detainees unmatched by other facilities in the Commonwealth through an exclusive environment for civil detention and the housing of immigrants on all security levels. Currently capable of housing 577 detainees, the center has the potential to hold up to 1,000 individuals. The Farmville Detention Center is staffed with the most qualified personnel that hold more than 945 years of law enforcement and corrections experience combined.
Accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA), the Farmville Detention Center is a member in good standing of the ACA and the American Jail Association (AJA). While working to provide detention services of the highest caliber, ICA-Farmville is in the final stages of application for the Farmville Detention Center to become a certified training academy with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and is pending accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).