Jail superintendent retires after 26 years with Orleans County

Photo by Tom Rivers: Scott Wilson smiles after being presented a “Special Recognition Award” from County Legislator Skip Draper, center, and Sheriff Chris Bourke.

ALBION – Scott Wilson has retired from leading the Orleans County Jail after 12 years as superintendent, a time when the facility added programs for people being held in the facility.

Wilson also helped oversee a $1 million construction project at the jail in 2013. That project staved off pressure from the state for the county to build a new jail. The current jail was constructed in two stages around 1970, and was falling into disrepair mainly due to water infiltration.

“I tried to keep costs down and extend the life of the building,” Wilson said on Tuesday after being presented with a “Special Recognition Award” from the County Legislature.

Wilson started working at the Orleans County Jail as a correction officer in 1998, and worked his way up as a sergeant and lieutenant, and then was appointed superintendent in 2012.

The jail on Platt Street has about 45 employees and a capacity for 72 inmates. Wilson said there have been fewer inmates in recent years due to the state’s bail reform laws.

He has been praised in his career for bringing more services to the jail for inmates, including mental health and addiction treatment services.

The jail is now used for Centralized Arraignment Parts (CAP Court) for morning and evening arraignments for arrests made in the county.

Wilson also has helped spearhead the county’s prescription drug take-back events, which netted about 1,000 pounds of pills each year since 2012.

He also serves on the boards of the Genesee-Orleans Mental Health Association and the Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Wilson was named the jail’s officer the year in 2003 and in 2014 was named the county’s employee of the year.

Chris Caulfield, a lieutenant at the jail, is the site’s acting leader until the superintendent position is filled.