NCJ Number
141476
Journal
Large Jail Network Bulletin Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: (June 1991) Pages: 2-8
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article profiles the planning and design for Contra Costa County's (California) West County Justice Facility (WCJF), a new direct-supervision jail to house mostly unsentenced felons.
Abstract
The WCJF was designed to provide all administration and facility support services outside the maximum-security fence line, which encloses 35 of the 58 available site acres. The entire building is situated against a substantial berm that provides direct access to the general living units through two tunnels that run under both the perimeter patrol road and the dual fence line. This design facilitates staff and visitor access without the need for staff to open and close the gates that penetrate the fence line. Other significant features of the administration and support building that depart from past designs are the provision of more staff facilities, such as dining room, exercise room, lockers and showers, training rooms, and meeting rooms; a lobby office suite for the activities of persons who do not need access to the primary operational portion of the facility; a vehicle sallyport that is not completely covered; improved inmate intake and booking facilities that include more square footage, a private medical examination office, and the separation of safety cells from the lounge; modifications in the transportation holding area; and provision for expanding support services. The descriptions of general housing module features address a secure perimeter, module populations, sheetrock walls, retractable module walls, and "dry" cells (cells without toilet facilities). Other facilities profiled are education buildings, the medical building, and visiting center.