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| Transition to new jail ‘smooth’ |
| By James L. White |
| Published: 04/13/2009 |
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Jason Day is the Boone County Jail administrator and dispatch supervisor and he’s not trying to make a pun when he describes the difference between the old jail and the new one. “Night and day,” Day said. He credits a crackerjack staff in his departments for a move that was a smooth as possible. “My staff, I can’t say enough about them,” he said. The new, much bigger facility requires more people to run than did the old jail. He went from a staff of eight at the old jail to 16 full-time and one part-time now. Some of those staff members are former prison guards or have worked in other county jails. He said one jailer is even a former police chief. Those experienced workers have made suggestions concerning some operations in the jail. Day said he likes to be open to those suggestions, too. “If it works, it works. I don’t care who thought of it,” he said. Even though many of the staff had experience, there was still training involved to get ready for the new facility. “Before we opened the doors, they had quite a bit of training,” Day said. They worked with stun guns and pepper spray, and even worked with the Harrison Fire Department on fire safety and extractions from cells, not to mention CPR training. In addition, newer jail staff members also got on-the-job training at the old jail working with the already-experienced staff there. As for dispatchers, Day said the system didn’t change that much, but there were some minor problems with physically moving and reconnecting all equipment to make that move smooth as well. Still, he said, the experienced dispatch staff recognized what needed to be done and did it without having to be told. Day maintains that without good people in place helping with the move, it couldn’t have been this easy. “And we’ve got good people helping us,” he said. The new facility opened for inmates Thursday, March 26. After a couple of weeks actually in the new jail, they have settled in and he found fewer problems than he even anticipated. “It’s been a lot better than I expected,” Day said. The first thing with which staff had to contend was the building itself. Day said that in the old jail, they were simply trying to maintain it at minimal cost. Now, with a building that is basically under warranty, they just have to contact builders and have small things corrected as they occur. The new jail also added about three times the cells and more room in general, which makes moving and segregating prisoners much easier. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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