JAILS

FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS

 AND RELATIONSHIPS

 

A jail is a single building, made up of many small pieces, or components, that represent different functions or activities.  Together the components are intended to satisfy all of the needs of inmates, staff, and public users of the jail.

The section of appropriate components, the details of their development, and their arrangement in relationship to each other on a selected site are what makes each jail design unique and responsive to local conditions.  It is this uniqueness of need and condition that makes it difficult to apply one standard, “cookie-cutter” design to all jail design problems.  To meet local jail needs effectively, it is critical to develop a working knowledge of the various components needed by the jurisdiction in terms of their function, interrelationship, and impact on design.

 

 

JAIL COMPONENTS

If a person documents every possible activity that could occur in a jail, the resulting list would be quite lengthy.  Fortunately, not all of these activities have space implications.  Many are comfortably managed within major activity categories for which proper space is designed and allocated, and some have no direct space impact at all (e.g., key control and inspections).  The major activity categories, or functional components, for which dedicated space is needed are described next.

Master Control.            Monitors and controls all building communications, safety and security systems, and movement and often coordinates management of emergencies in the early stages.

Intake-release (also referred to as “booking,” “reception,” and “admissions”).

Receives and processes incoming arrestees or inmates and release outgoing inmates.

Housing-general.            Accommodates the individual security, sleeping, hygiene, privacy, and personal needs of the main, or general, inmate population of adult males and females.

Housing-special.            Accommodates the individual security, sleeping, hygiene, privacy, and unique care needs of special inmate groups (e.g., those in disciplinary detention or protective custody, or mentally ill, suicidal, intoxicated, medically infirm, juveniles remanded as adults, or handicapped) and or inmates who regularly leave and return to the jail (work release or periodic confinement).

Health care.                Accommodates the health care needs of inmates, including medical exams, dental exams, testing, distributing medications, sick call, medical records, and storage.

Visiting.                      Accommodates individual and group contact between inmates and family or official visitors (staff, counselors, attorneys, etc.).

Indoor and/or outdoor exercise.            Accommodates the physical exercise needs of inmates in an indoor or outdoor setting, and the storing of necessary support equipment.

Program/services.            Accommodates inmate needs in such areas as recreation, education, counseling, training, library, and religious services.

Food service.               Accommodate the receiving and storage of food and food supplies; the preparation, delivery, and consumption of meals; cleanup after food preparation of meals; and removal of refuse.

Laundry.                     Receives, cleans, sometimes mends, stores, and distributes all reusable personal items used in the facility, such as clothing, linens, bedding, pillows, and mattresses.

Commissary.               Accommodates basic inmate needs or wants for such miscellaneous items as pens, paper, toiletries, and snacks.

Administration/public.            Organizes and manages the daily business of the facility, accommodates public access to the facility, and responds to the public’s need for information and services.

Staff.                           Accommodates the training, hygiene, fitness, and personal needs of facility staff.

Storage.                       Accommodates the need to maintain various types of equipment, spare parts, and supplies safely and securely.

Maintenance.             Initiates preventive maintenance, fix and replaces worn or damaged equipment and materials, and cleans and maintains existing facilities.

Mechanical.               Provides heat, ventilation, and air conditioning; water and waste lines; and main and emergency power supplies

The typical small and medium-sized jail built during the past ten years has each of the preceding functional components.  However, there are significant variations from facility to facility in the degree to which some of these functions are provides, largely because of operational and economic consideration.  In some facilities, the functions are minimally developed.  As a result, the function has a limited impact on space and equipment requirements.  In other facilities, the same components are fully developed and require a complete range of space and equipment.  Local officials, planners, and architects must determine needs with respect to each functional component during pre-design planning in order to design and arrange the spaces properly.

PLANNING & DESIGNING TO STANDARDS

Designing a jail involves the application of codes and standards developed by various local, state, and/or national agencies.  Legally mandated codes and standards require interaction with officials representing the code/standards agencies in order to obtain approvals required to initiate construction.  Being aware of applicable codes and standards early in the planning and design process is necessary to a successful project.

Some people react negatively to codes and standards as an intrusion into their process and right to do as they see fit.  How ever, all building codes and standards are intended to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants.  Standards tend to be ideologically neutral.  Virtually all of their content is derived from unsatisfactory and sometimes tragic experiences.  They generally represent the collected wisdom of specialists and practitioners in a particular field.

If approached positively and early in the process, standards and codes can be useful tools in establishing safe and proven parameters.  Personnel from standards and code agencies can provide significant help to local officials and designers based on their experience with many similar projects in the area and state.  Both legally binding and advisory standards are worth reviewing before design, and even before programming begins.

 

STATE STANDARDS 

In many states, one or more agencies within the state government have legislative authority to promulgate and enforce minimum jail standards.  These agencies vary greatly in terms of the resources, approaches, and legal authorities they employ.  In some states, design and operational standards for jail are exceedingly detailed and strictly enforced; the responsible authority has the means to enforce standards up to the point of bringing suit against local governments whose facilities are non-compliant.  In other states, the responsible agency may have detailed standards but lack the authority to enforce them and is regulated to simply encouraging compliance through educational strategies such as training and technical assistance.

In some states, more than one agency has authority over planning, design, and operation of jails.  Often one agency focuses on the planning, design, and construction requirements, while another is primarily charged with establishing operational requirements dealing with non-architectural aspects such as training standards, polices and procedures, and inmate services.  Identification and review of state standards and understanding their role in the development of a proposed jail project are essential.

 

ACA COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION STANDARDS 

Persons both within and external to the field of corrections sometimes erroneously refer to the standards published by the American Correctional Association and Commission on Accreditation for Corrections as mandated “national” or “federal standards.”  While this is understandable, it is essentially incorrect.  The ACA and the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC) are private, nonprofit organizations that administers the only national accreditation program for all components of adult and juvenile corrections.  Their purpose is to promote improvement in the management and design of correctional agencies through the development and revision of useful standards.  It is an effort supported by the corrections profession.  The standards have benefited from contributions by practitioners throughout the nation.

Neither the ACA nor the CAC have the authority to mandate or enforce compliance with the standards.  Agencies that voluntarily opt to participate in the CAC’s formal accreditation program are required to comply with certain eligibility criteria and enter into an accreditation contract.  Any new architectural design, building, and/or renovation of an institution must be done in accordance with the standards current at that time.

ACA/CAC standards pertaining to city and county jails or detention facilities at the time of this writing are published as the Standards for Adult Local Detention Facilities.  A Supplement is periodically published to document additions, revisions, deletions, and/or interpretations for all ACA/CAC standard manuals.  Users of the ACA/CAC standards must review both the prevailing base standards document in its most recent edition as well as the most recent supplement.

Whether or not a local community formally participates in the ACA/CAC accreditation program, which requires entry into a contract and payment of an accreditation fee, the Standards for Adult Local Detention Facilities represents an excellent tool against which to evaluate their jail operations and facilities.  As stated in the Introduction to Accreditation section of the Standards document, “The recognized benefits of such a process may include credibility for administrative and line staff; safer and more humane environment for personnel and inmates; and the establishment of measurable criteria for upgrading programs, personnel, and the physical plant on a continuing basis.

 

NFPA LIFE SAFETY CODE

Established in 1896, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting lives and property from the hazards of fire.  The NFPA publishes hundreds of nationally recognized codes and standards including the National Electrical Code and the Fire Protection Handbook, as well as numerous fire-service training and fire-safety education materials.

The NFPA Life Safety Code represents the most authoritative and widely used resource available to planners, architects, engineers, building and fire officials, safety personnel, and manufactures whose responsibilities include fire and life safety.  The Code is organized into six major parts, with the first part consisting of “base” or “fundamental” chapters.  Many of the provisions of these base chapters are mandatory for all types of occupancies.  The term “occupancies” basically refers to building of different types and varying uses.  Of special value to those designing a jail are the chapters on “Detention and Correctional Occupancies” and “Existing Detention and Correctional Occupancies.”

In addition to the Life Safety Code, the NFPA publishes the Life Safety Code Handbook to provide additional clarifying commentary and illustrations to help users of the Code understand and apply Code requirements.  The Handbook also explains changes to the Code since the previous edition.

NFPA publications and training seminars are excellent resources, but the NFPA does not have the authority to enforce compliance with the Code or other recommendations.  However, many state and local building regulatory agencies have adopted the Code in whole or in substantial part, thereby giving the life safety requirements of the Code the force of law in jurisdictions under their purview.

It is important to consult applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulatory agencies that are relevant to the planning and design of jails.  The NFPA is clear that it does not endorse compliance with its Life Safety Code in case where the Code requirements are at variance with other laws with which a local project must achieve mandatory compliance.

 

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITES ACT

Originally passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) seeks to protect individuals with physical and mental disabilities from discriminatory practices in employment, public services, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications services.  The ADA extends comprehensive civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to persons on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title II of the ADA, which became effective on January 26, 1992, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in services, programs, and activities provided by state and local government entities.  Section 202 of the ADA extends the nondiscrimination policy of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in federally assisted programs and activities by all state and local government agencies regardless of weather such entities receive federal funds.  Most programs and activities of state and local governments are recipients of financial assistance from one or more federal agencies and are already covered by Section 504.

Section 504 of the ADA requires that the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board issue minimum guidelines to assist the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Transportation in establishing accessibility standards under Title II (pertaining to state and local governments) and III (pertaining to private entities who own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation).

The Board has published the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) to assist the DOJ in establishing accessibility standards for new construction and alternatives in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities.  In 1992, the DOJ issued proposed Rules for Courthouses (Section 11), and Detention and Correctional Facilities (Section 12).  At the time the DOJ published its proposed rules for Title II facilities, it indicated that the Board would be further supplementing the ADAAG to include the comments and suggestions for “scoping requirements” for justice facilities and other types of facilities.  In 1994, the DOJ issued the “Interim Final Rules” that included Section 11–12 governing Courthouses and Correctional and Detention Facilities.  Local leaders and planners should research the latest requirements of the ADA as they evolve prior to, and during, design.

 

Several general points should be made about the ADA regarding its impact on jail planning and design.

1.     ADA facilities requirements are applicable not only to proposed new jails but existing jails to the extent that accommodations to meet the ADA rules are adjudged “readily achievable.”

2.     Since ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability, literally every inmate classification (maximum, disciplinary, protective custody, female, etc) must be accommodated in housing area design.  This affects all spaces including:

-                cells,

-                dayrooms,

-                vestibules,

-                shower areas,

-                toilet areas, and

-                exercise or other support areas at housing.

It also affects furniture, hardware, and equipment in housing areas:

-                desks and tables,

-                seating,

-                beds,

-                shower fixtures (grab bars and seats),

-                toilet fixtures (grab bars),

-                sinks,

-                mirrors,

-                shelves/storage,

-                alarms

-                communications,

-                doors (width and clearance surrounding the door),

-                door handles,

-                televisions, and

-                telephones.

As awareness of design issues for inmates with disabilities has grown, an increasing number of products have become available to meet ADA requirements.

3.     Virtually all areas generally accessible to inmates are affected by ADA requirements, such as exercise, booking, programs, health care, food service,     and laundry.

4.     ADA requirements apply to jail staff and the public as well, therefore affecting all areas of a facility.

5.     The ADA covers a wide range of disabilities.  While the needs of people in wheelchairs receive primary attention from most designers, other disabilities like hearing and sight impairments also demand design attention.

There is substitute for details and thorough research into documents that govern the base legislation forming the ADA and that continue to record its evolution.  Local governments undertaking jail projects must avail themselves of these resources and should consider acquiring the professional services of consultants, architects, and engineers with experience implementing the requirements of the ADA.

 

CONCLUSION 

Standards and codes are a significant factor in the design of a new jail.  Applicable standards and codes should be identified early and applied even before design commences, i.e., during pre-design planning.  Local code or standards officials can be an asset to the facility development process if involved early.