NCJ Number
188694
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2001 Pages: 20-23
Date Published
May 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines the use of technological developments in housing inmates safely and economically in the Dodge County, WI, Correctional Facility.
Abstract
Dodge County, WI, recently opened a $36 million jail/courthouse facility that uses the latest technology to manage a growing inmate population. The facility includes a central system that controls access day and night; a design that provides for no-contact visitation, keeping inmates in the secure area of the jail at all times; special cameras that monitor the entire site 24 hours a day every day; duress alarms for all prison employees; and a fiber-optic system that allows the county to broadcast training, religious programs, video arraignments, etc. The facility's command center controls access to the secure perimeter of the jail and entrance to the jail when inmates are locked down at night. Each cell has a call button so an inmate can summon help if necessary, and the master control can send a mobile officer to provide assistance. The jail has five pods: two indirect supervision pods and two direct supervision pods, which house up to 57 inmates each, and a Huber dorm that holds 133 inmates. Master control can disable local control of a pod at any time so that, in case of trouble, inmates cannot take over the doors. The jail has two types of cells and two levels of supervision, giving inmates an opportunity to earn their way into an area with the nicer cells and more privileges.