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| Correctional Facility Design: Can You Get There From Here? |
| By Richard Hough |
| Published: 08/24/2003 |
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One of the key design issues for corrections professionals is how functional the floor plan of a new jail, prison, or juvenile detention center is for the movement of staff and inmates. When one considers the length of time the average correctional facility will be in use (life-cycle) the floor plan and traffic flow become tremendously important. Criminal justice facility designers and architects themselves are often out of touch with this reality. In my career I have had the unique opportunity to lead either the design or re-furbishing of several patrol sub-stations, two jails, and a juvenile detention center -- also a mobile command center, but that is for another article. Leadership Issues When a local agency begins the design process for a correctional project that has been funded, often the organization leaders do not feel they have the resources or expertise to play a significant part, let alone guide the fashioning of the structure. [But] the truth is, an agency can rarely afford not to be assertive in voicing its needs and staying with the project through every step. A sheriff or even a state agency may defer to the 'design professionals' under the assumption that since the architects are the only ones who can finalize official plans and are, after all, architects. In asserting this voice, agencies should note that the local or state elected officials responsible and accountable for the funding of the project can be invaluable allies in supporting the design concerns of the agency leadership and staff. Taking the time to provide briefings on basic correctional facility functions and traffic pattern flows can provide politicians the insight required to take a more personal role in ensuring the design matches the needs. In building this relationship, it is important to know what the concerns of legislators or county commissioners are and what questions have they been asked by constituents. The operating philosophy will come into play here with design, as well as in staffing the facility; choosing direct or indirect supervision and the number of control centers needed. If an elected official understands, for example, that direct supervision typically results in less facility damage and fewer officer and inmate injuries, and, that this results in a cost savings every year then they are more likely to support an initial expenditure to achieve the appropriate staffing levels for the new facility. I have worked with architectural and planning firms that are competent and committed to delivering a product that the user will find functional and I also have worked with those who are concerned with other issues to the detriment of the correctional officers, support staff and inmates who work and live in the environment. From my experience, not tuning into the needs of the agency and employees will certainly lead to frustration for the staff and worse -- it can often lead to unsafe design features and long term costs that could have been avoided. Safety Most staff would agree that their concerns lie in the area of safety. Working from the outside - in, every officer knows there are safety aspects to each space in the building(s). Will there be a perimeter fence or will the exterior walls act as the secure perimeter? Which areas need vestibules or sally ports? How much and what type of security electronics are needed? It is not often that wardens, superintendents and directors are up-to-date on the latest security features or system designs. They rarely have the time to be experts in this area, but they must have select staff members who are. It is an ongoing educational process. Careful and frequent questioning of the architects and builders will reduce the learning curve immensely. Vendors' promotional materials are plentiful and can show corrections professionals what systems and equipment are out there in the market. Also, are there other facilities nearby? Go on field trips. During the design of a 1,000 bed facility, for example, I sent out four teams of two staff each all over Florida to look at security features as well as the overall design of correctional facilities that were either under construction, recently opened or that were older, so that we could learn of difficulties they had experienced. One important issue that can arise is the need for control centers in a facility. Some architects feel that more control centers are needed within a facility than are practical for the organization's operating philosophy. But the visual impediment created by the sometimes-unmanned control center does not improve surveillance and can obstruct the officer's line of sight. An architect often utilizes the sub-floor beneath raised control rooms to branch off various utility junctions that are not suitable to just be run in a straight, uninterrupted line. By eliminating three control rooms in the corridors of a 500-bed jail design during the planning stage, I was able to save a number of staff positions and devote them to floor and float (escort) duty. The functions of those control centers were rerouted to the master control room and housing unit control rooms. For safety there is little that is more important than the sight lines and visibility inside a cell block or housing dormitory. Ideally, most staff would ask for housing areas to be built rounded with every cell front facing the same spot. While there are some noted historical prisons and jails such as this, contemporary architecture finds this style too expensive to build. There are lower cost alternatives, however, such as two wings at right angles both of which face a control room or area. While providing security cameras in each cell or housing unit is also cost-prohibitive, newer and relatively inexpensive pan-tilt-zoom cameras with an appropriate lens size can dramatically increase the surveillance capabilities of staff. Support Services Support services are another area requiring careful consideration. Food Service -- Is it big enough? Sure, it may be adequate for an inmate population of 100 or 200 or even 500 but what about 10 or 15 years from now when the population has increased? Will the kitchen be 'locked' in the center of a building where it was logically placed for easy distribution when the facility was first designed and built? Build on an exterior wall of the building to allow for future expansion and consider this when equipment is placed. For instance, locate freezers and coolers on the outside wall so that that specific walls can be moved outward in the future which allows the movement of box-like cooling units straight out along with the wall. Medical/Dental - In even small facilities an examination area is needed that provides adequate privacy while maintaining security for medical staff. Is this space located to be accessible to the booking or the central processing area? Is there a security locker for instruments and a security inventory that is signed off each shift with copies in the administration area? These questions are of course operational issues, but nevertheless important to remember during transition planning before the move in. Education/Programs - At a minimum all areas should be wired for remote connection. Even if there are no current programs or systems requiring remote access or wiring, that time will come. The cost of extra conduit during design and construction is nothing compared to retrofitting down the road and possibly having exposed conduit that is susceptible to inmate mischief. Education and programs areas must also have adequate video-audio surveillance. Maintenance - When I took over the Corrections Bureau of a large sheriff's office in central Florida, I was immediately faced with the design and construction of a major facility. I did not know jails or prisons all that well, but I knew something more important; when you don't know a lot about something, you ask more questions. One of the most important areas that I did not take for granted and asked a lot of questions about, was building maintenance. The plumbing, electrical, Heating-Ventilating-Air Conditioning (HVAC) and security electronics are the lifeblood of the building and I learned much from maintenance workers, vendors and inmates as well. Suggestions from all of these individuals led to adding some important items that most facilities do not have such as: 220 electrical power outlets placed in select plumbing chases so that maintenance staff can use welding equipment; hose connections in the vehicle sally port to use when patrol officers have someone who has been pepper sprayed; and finished concrete floors in many locations where an architect would use vinyl-composite-tile (VCT) since tile is not needed, costs more and is harder to keep up. The lesson is: no one person knows it all on your staff or in an architectural firm. Agency administration should select a project coordinator who is energetic, bright, not afraid to ask questions and who follows up on everything. Planning and the Transition Team Mention transition teams and administrators often have visions of huge bureaucratic tangles, or worse, officers who are need on the floors assigned indefinitely to 'talk about' the new facility and perform some vague activities. Keep the group manageable, consider having only one full-time staff member assigned to coordinate the planning and construction phases and, if necessary, increase the full-time staff when it is time to move in. During the transition planning, assignment sheets with timelines and which staff member is responsible for which tasks will prove invaluable. Training must be considered during transition, if not during the actual design itself. As each area is being built, your transition team coordinator should be thinking about what staff members will have to know about the function of the new or revamped area. Conclusion This article has exposed you to just a few thoughts involving the design and planning for a new correctional facility. In future articles we will look more in depth at several of these issues and some key information that agencies and officers should think about not only when building or moving in, but in operating and working in an existing facility. Stay safe. Richard M. Hough, Sr. is a former director of corrections, regional juvenile detention center superintendent, law enforcement administrator and police officer. He currently teaches criminal justice and public administration courses at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Troy State University and the University of Phoenix Online. Richard is a criminal justice and management consultant and a use-of-force expert. He can be reached at rhough@uwf.edu . |
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