NCJ Number
104600
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Based on a 1984 Bureau of Justice Statistics' survey of 903 State correctional facilities, this report compares types of prison perimeter security, with particular attention to New York State's procedure for selecting the appropriate type of perimeter security for each prison, and provides guidelines for selecting perimeter security.
Abstract
The report compares the installation and operating costs for the two most popular types of prison perimeter security, tower-walls and electronic detection, in Alabama, Arizona, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and South Carolina and for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In reviewing New York State's approach to determining cost-effective perimeter security for specific institutions, three maximum-security institutions and their particular forms of perimeter security are examined. Perimeter-security decisionmaking criteria and perimeter requirements for the three major levels of institutional security in New York State are indicated. The report's suggestions for selecting an electronic perimeter system include planning for future needs, conducting life-cycle cost comparisons for all options, contacting other agencies about their experiences, testing systems before making a major decision, creating an agency product review committee, and investigating manufacturers' claims versus actual performance. A chart describes the characteristics of various intrusion alarm systems. 8 tables, 3 figures, 10 information sources, and 8 notes.