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SAFETY RISK

Public Safety

Public safety is at higher risk each time inmates are taken to court or transferred to other counties for housing. Inmates are moved through wide-spread public areas because there are no secure corridors from the jail to the courtroom. Transferring inmates to other counties takes deputies off of the road - decreasing focus on citizen safety. Another area of concern is that professional visitors are brought into the secure perimeter of the jail to utilize the library/multipurpose room - there is no physical barrier between visitors and inmates if an inmate was to become aggressive. These actions leave the public, inmates, and staff at risk of injury and increase the risk of inmate escapes.

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Inmate Safety

Crowded cells, resulting from classification requirements, and the loss of privacy increase the odds that inmates will lash out, threatening the staff keeping watch and inmates around them. 

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Other Safety Risks

  • The proximity of the jail to the courts is a significant walk (through unsecure corridors) and poses risk to the public, staff, and inmates each time an inmate is taken to court

  • The booking area is unsafe as inmate is not separated from the jailer

  • The property room and strip search area is nowhere near booking

  • The linear layout of the jail provides restricted view to inmates. Learn more about podular vs. linear design​​

  • Staff often has to go into cell to do routine inmate safety checks

  • Line of sight into master control room by inmates and the public

  • Staff and occupants are at increased risk to illness/communicable disease due to improper ventilation

  • There are no negative pressure cells to isolate inmates to prevent the spread of an illness from cell to cell

  • Medical unit is unsafe as there is no escape route for the nurse

  • Generator does not support the jail because it's not powerful enough to run the entire building - during power failure, cells would have to be opened by a key which could impact response time to an emergency

  • Warped secure doors and/or outdated cell locks impact response time to an emergency

  • Cell toilets lack proper security measures

  • There are no floor drains in receiving so body fluids spill into the hallway

  • There are no secure perimeters that provide easy access to electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems. This often requires contractors to enter cells when systems require maintenance and/or inmates need to leave the cell

  • Jail elevator has recurring issues

  • Inadequate fire sprinkler system

  • Emergency exits are located significant distance from certain cell blocks

  • Emergency exit is shared with firefighters and inmates - they pass each other coming and going

  • Non-secure ceilings throughout facility

  • No secure space for garbage containers - certain garbage could be used by inmate as a weapon

  • Huber inmates wait in hallway to enter jail when returning from work limiting proper search and increasing possibility of contraband entering the facility

  • Inadequate housing for high risk inmates

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Impact

The current facility increases risk for injury, illness, or death of staff, inmates, and the public. Furthermore, the current facility is not properly designed to provide treatment and recovery services to help inmates re-enter society and minimize their chances of reverting to crime.

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