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LILLINGTON, N.C. – Harnett County officials built a new $23 million facility to house the sheriff's office and the detention center behind the courthouse in Lillington, N.C.

Sheriff Larry Rollins, of Harnett County, said his staff is settled in less than two weeks after moving out of their old facility across town.

"We were conducting some business in the old and in the new for a while, but things have transitioned very smoothly," he said.

Deputies said the 106,562 square foot facility is a step up for the sheriff's office. The former building dates back to the 1960s.

County leaders decided to build a new facility that would give the sheriff's office room to grow for the next 20 years.

Gregory Taylor, who is in charge of crime scene investigators, said the new building helps deputies to do their job.

"It is a cleaner environment. It is a safer environment for my guys and allows us to be a lot more efficient with what we do," he said.

The facility includes a new jail. The old jail was originally built to house 84 inmates, but now typically houses 150. The new jail has 300 beds, but has room to expand in the future to house 600 inmates.

Each of the seven pods is a self contained unit where the inmates will eat, sleep and drink. Rollins said inmates will never have to leave except for the day they appear in court and the day they leave jail. "We put in a lot of technology you can't see," Rawlins said. "There are the assets of that help us a whole lot in the building."

Video cameras are set up that can be used by inmates to talk with family members, or it can be used for court appearances. When inmates do need to go to the courthouse, it is only a 600 yard walk, versus the two and half mile drive from the old jail. Rollins said that frees up detention staff to do other duties.

"I am pretty proud of it, and I think our citizens will be," he said.

Rollins is offering an open house for the public to tour the new building this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.