Major Robert Lucas took us on a tour of the Orient Road Jail. Lucas started the tour off in the processing area for inmates, and said that there are usually 200 inmates processed a day. One thing I learned on our tour was that strip searches were no longer legal, and in replace of the strip searches they did pat downs, and then had each inmate sit in the “Boss” chair. The “Boss” chair is a detection chair that traces all metal objects an inmate may have in his/her possession. The Orient Road Jail is a direct supervision jail, which is different from the traditional style jails.
Direct supervision jails are the new generation of jails. The direct supervision jails have pods that all inmates stay in. There are multiple pods in the jails. Each pod has separate rooms that house one to two inmates for lock downs, and it is where the inmates sleep. With the pod style layout, inmates have a more sense of freedom. The inmates are able to interact more with one another, and they are in an atmosphere more alike the real world (outside of jail).
The designs of direct supervision jails provide safer, more humane environments for the inmates. Studies show that detention facilities that use direct supervision have tremendously lowered rates of assaults, extortions and lawsuits compared to the traditional linear style of jail management. Another positive improvement is that there is less expensive construction due to behavior improvements of the inmates, and in my opinion this helps to saves ‘us’ tax payers money. The inmates are more stable, and they are able to cope with the environment in a more positive way than with the traditional jails.
There is a Corrections Deputy that continuously supervises all inmates and is in control with the direct supervision model. Major improvements made due to this model have been: a cleaner facility, lower noise levels, less vandalism, reduction in inmate assaults, inmates follow directions better, staff has more confidence and the stress for everyone has reduced.
There are some inmates that do not respond well to the pod style jail sells, and those inmates are placed in segregation units. Usually, most of the inmates that are placed in segregation units are know as “high risk” type inmates and have fewer privileges than the general population.
The older movies that show jail sells are traditional style jails, and many people have the perception that they are the same today. Traditional jails keep inmates separated from one another, leaving one or two in a room alone until recreation time. This will cause many inmates to build aggression, and that is one reason fights break out.
Overall, I enjoyed the tour. I enjoy watching TV shows and movies that deal with inmates, so experiencing what a jail is like in person without going through ‘processing’ as an inmate was fun. I was able to a lot of knowledge from the tour that I didn’t know previously.
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7 comments:
This piece was very good and the most important part was that if I was not there this was a accurate description of what the trip was all about.
This post doesn't indicate a very profound experience, but I saw that you were surprisingly brave on the "inside", too. More compare/contrast between TV and the real deal would be interesting.
Good job giving specific facts about the jail, while also incorporating your opinion. Overall, the post is organized pretty well and very readable.
In a situation in which it was very hard to concentrate, you kept your cool and it shows in your well reported post.
very thorough. I enjoyed reading it
I liked the way that she explained each thing she learned as she made her way through the jail. It helped to show how much was learned from the tour.
You were obviously calm enough to specifics about the visit. Better off than I was...
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