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| Florida Jail Folds Up Tent Experiment |
| By Naples News |
| Published: 05/12/2003 |
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The tents folded up this month. But should the population of the Collier County, Fla., jail call for it again, the tent experiment meant to ease crowding could be pitched again. The 80 jail inmates, many of them misdemeanor offenders, who had been living in the outdoors, are already back indoors, either to jail beds in East Naples or to cells in the new Immokalee lockup. Non-violent inmates, those held on battery or driving under the influence or theft charges, were housed in tents inside the secure, razor-wire-protected recreation yard in the government center in East Naples to ease crowding in the jail. When the tents went up last summer, there were nearly 700 inmates in the jail - 100 of them sleeping on the floor - and there was grumbling among the incarcerated and concerns about safety for the jailed and the jailers. Moving some inmates to the outdoors into two Sprung tents, which cost $377,000 and were complete with furniture and bathrooms and showers, was meant to relieve the crowding. 'Operationally, it was sound,' said sheriff's Lt. Joe Bastys. 'I'd do it again.' The tents had to be taken down because they were in the way of the jail expansion and the new parking garage. With no escape attempts or major problems - any inmates who caused disturbances were put back indoors - and more 'direct supervision' of inmates by jail deputies, the tent situation worked well. He said inmates often cause fewer problems when corrections' deputies out among them in that style of supervision. 'You take away that piece of glass and it seems to work,' Bastys said, referring to jail control rooms where the indoor inmates are often supervised. If the tents hadn't been removed because of the pending construction, he said he would have preferred the tents to remain in service for a while longer because they helped reduce the crowding in the main jail. 'I wish I had them up for a few more months,' he said. |
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