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| Corrections consultant evaluates jail plans |
| By Craig Moorhead |
| Published: 04/21/2009 |
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The Houston County Jail is clean and in good repair, but still, its shortfalls are many. At a public meeting at Caledonia High School April 9, consultant James Rowenhorst gave county commissioners and residents his opinion on where the Houston County criminal justice system is at, and where it needs to go. A former jail administrator, Rowenhorst works as a correctional consultant for the National Institute of Corrections, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. “I do not know of another jail in the United States built in 1875 that is still operating, Rowenhorst said, referring to the jail in Caledonia, “and I’ve been to at least 100 or more jails in this country. I’ve been to some pretty old ones, but nothing that dates back to 1875 ... It just does not meet any minimum standards, period.” The Minnesota Department of Corrections allows the current jail to house inmates for up to 90 days, and has been giving the county time to work on a new jail, Rowenhorst said. If that project falls through, he predicted, the old facility would only be allowed to hold prisoners for 72 hours. The jail, he said, “is marginal … if you don’t do anything, the situation will get a lot more expensive,” he said. Rowenhorst gave jail administrators credit for making the most of the existing structure. “The building is clean and in good repair,” he said. “It has smoke detectors and a sprinkler system. It has good ‘operations’ and is standards compliant.” But there are many drawbacks. They include lack of a “secure perimeter,” inadequate heat and lighting, inadequate booking space, no holding cells, no close observation cells, no indoor or outdoor exercise space, no room for “programs” (to reduce recidivism), and insufficient capacity. County Commissioner Jack Miller asked Rowenhorst if programs designed to reduce recidivism really work. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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