WINDSOR, N.C.-- Several agencies are trying to figure out what went wrong inside the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail in Eastern North Carolina after inmates gained control of the facility and held two jail staffers hostage for hours.

Fortunately, the incident ended Monday with only minor injuries.

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Unlike most jails across North Carolina, this regional facility isn't run by the local sheriff. Instead, a commission is in charge. Last year, the jail's long-time administrator resigned. During that transition, concerns were voiced about the conditions inside the jail.

Disability Rights North Carolina has tracked jail conditions for years by collecting monthly population reports and bi-annual inspections.

The takeover at Bertie-Martin did not surprise Luke Woollard, a staff attorney for the advocacy who focuses on prisons and jails, "Saw the jail capacity and where their staffing was, it wasn't unfortunately surprising that something like this would happen."

At the time, 88 inmates were being supervised by three officers.

Woollard says near capacity jails and constant staffing shortages are chronic problems across North Carolina. "What worries me is that we have jails that we know are in a worse situation than Bertie," he said.

Disability Rights North Carolina found jails fail around 62% of their inspections. And that number hasn't improved over the years.  While some violations are minor, like fixing a loose door handle, others are potentially dangerous, according to Woollard, "A lot of them very serious reasons, like overcrowding, not making supervision rounds [to make sure inmates are safe]."

WRAL obtained the past two years of inspections for the Bertie Martin jail. It didn't pass any of the four inspections. Violations included inadequate lighting in 3 of the 4inspections, cleanliness issues, including mold in 2 of the 4 checks.

However, the jail was only cited once for capacity issues, when too many male inmates were being held back in September of 2024.

For Woollard though, any violation is a concern.

"There are some things that seem innocuous in your house that are actually quite dangerous in a jail setting," Woollard said. "Like you have a light bulb that's out. OK, well you can't see in your closet, whatever and you change it. In a jail setting, that could create a blind spot."

Woollard hopes this incident will bring about change to keep jail staff and inmates safe, so we don't see a repeat of what happened in the Bertie jail.

"I would hope that this brings a spotlight to the necessary safety concerns that are happening in these jails and the conditions generally," he said. "I've got no idea what motivated this jail takeover, but you can see from inspection reports that the conditions in a lot of these jails are very dire."