Bulging At The Bars

Someone has to pay to build jails and keep them operating

Given their preference, few citizens would list building, maintaining and operating a jail as the best use of their tax dollars.

But someone has to pay to keep the jails operating, and occasionally to replace an outdated, inadequate facility.

So, Spartanburg county officials face a dilemma:  How to win public support for construction of a new jail?

Local leaders, state corrections officials and jail experts unanimously agree the county needs a new jail to replace its aging and overcrowded lockup.  A special committee is now considering the type, size and location for the new jail, and soon, the County Council will select an architect for the project.

"Jails have become the stepchild of the criminal justice system," according to local sociology and criminal justice professor Dr. Friedrich Wenz. But more and more, public bodies are using innovative approaches to try to convince citizens to support - or at least understand - jail projects.

Earlier this month, South Carolina used one of the more popular programs tried around the country when it hosted its "Spend A Night in Jail" program at the newly constructed Broad River Correctional Institution medium security prison.

About 65 people, including state legislators, judges, prison and probation officers, prisoner-aid representatives and news reporters, were invited to spend a night in the facility prior to its opening.

The guests went through prison orientation, were issued prison "blues" and locked in their cells.

Mike Cavanaugh, executive director of the state Department of Parole and Community Corrections, called it "quite an experience, confining. You definitely felt the loss of freedom when you got in the cell and the door was locked."

"There was a good bit of humor because we all knew we were getting out the next day, but I can imagine it wouldn't have been so funny knowing you were going to be in there for a while," he said.

Though the facility is "a nice, new facility, you definitely knew you were incarcerated. It is punishment, " Cavanaugh said.

Charleston county Sheriff Al Cannon, Jr., said while he wasn't surprised by his night in jail, it certainly reinforced the lesson that crime doesn't pay.

"The biggest thing was the lack of privacy and realizing that you couldn't just get up and walk around at will. Also, the noise. I think that it would take some time getting used to, especially things like them (guards) coming around and shining a flashlight in your face every few minutes," said the sheriff of Charleston county, where officials also face replacing an overcrowded jail.

Other complaints among those who spent time in the prison included the pillows were uncomfortable and there was nothing to do in the cells. "But most often, they complained about the noise," said Hal Leslie, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.

Leslie said the medium security section of the prison, which will house between 792 and 1,104 prisoners, depending on final court rulings on double-bunking prisoners, should be opened soon. He said the Spend a Night program not only was an attempt to educated people on jail operations, but to give the prison's staff the opportunity to for  "a dry run of its operations with actual bodies in the bunks."

The maximum security section of the prison is already in operation.

Among the first correctional facilities to use the sleep-over concept was the jail in Larimer county, Colo.  The jail is a model new generation facility touted by the National Institute of Corrections as one other counties, including Spartanburg county, should emulate. 

But even the model facility needed help in winning public approval. County officials in Larimer hired a professional promotions firm to educate voters on the need fo the jail and a tax proposal needed to fund the construction.

Spartanburg County Administrator Ken Westmoreland said he does not anticipate the county will hire a promoter to help win public support for a new county jail here, but he expects some form of public education and participation programs. He said the county will likely conduct public hearings and attend meetings of civic and social organizations to try to demonstrate the need for the new facility and explain the new generation concept of direct supervision.

Former Supreme Court chief Justice Bruce Littlejohn, who heads a local committee studying the county's jail and courthouse needs, said, "I think people are willing to pay for a reasonable jail facility.  It seems to be the impression of some people that these new jails are something attuned to a motel, but that's a misconception."

He acknowledged the living conditions in jails have improved as living conditions have improved in society.

"As the public comes to know the facts, I think they will appreciate the necessity of new ideas," in building and operating jails, he said.