NCJ Number
110582
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 38,40,42,44
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The prototypical juvenile corrections units for San Luis Obispo (California), Hanford (California), and Mount View (Colorado) provide unobstrusive security in a residential setting, respond to juveniles' needs without resorting to severe architectural barriers and constraints, and ensure community safety.
Abstract
The first step in planning a juvenile correctional facility is to determine the characteristics of the juveniles to not require isolated, maximum security confinement. Juveniles residing at the Mount View residential facility have been adjudicated for the full range of offenses. The facility has residential sections of 12 rooms located on two split levels surrounding an activity space. This enhances visual access to each floor and reduces the architectural scale of the activity areas. Rather than relying heavily on architectural barriers, the program provides a social milieu that requires a series of emotional decisions which have severely negative consequences generally sufficient to deter misconduct. Mount View as well as San Luis Obispo and Hanford use studs and gypsum board for most wall construction at a significant savings compared to prisons that use concrete cells. Space is provided for temporary maximum security confinement, but it composes a small percentage of the square footage. The operations of these facilities have been sufficiently positive to prove the cost effectiveness of their designs.