NCJ Number
103147
Date Published
1985
Length
56 pages
Annotation
Nine briefing papers focus on issues that local jurisdictions should explore when designing a jail, such as legal liability, bed capacity, modes of supervision, costs, and maintenance.
Abstract
The papers are based on a survey of 255 new small jails and visits to 32 facilities conducted in 1984 and 1985. An outline of basic predesign issues is followed by a overview of potential unconstitutional jail conditions and the potential liability of corrections and local government officials from prisoner lawsuits. Guidelines for determining the feasibility of a multijurisdictional jail as a solution to problems faced by small and medium-sized jurisdictions are presented. Other papers address determining a small jail's bed capacity so that the facility can cope with future expansion and inmate surveillance methods, particularly the podular-remote approach. Additional topics discussed include the impact of decisions made during the design and planning phases on personnel costs, planning for transition from an old to a new jail, and plans for handling jail maintenance. A guide to using an architect considers basic services the architect can provide, the client's responsibilities, selecting an architect, and developing a request for proposal. Several papers include references.