New Generation Jails

Traditional Jail Designs

Prior to the 1970s, most U.S. jails and prisons had a linear architectural design in which living areas (or “cell blocks”) consisted of multiple-occupancy cells or dormitories aligned along a corridor or hallway. The problem with this design is that the correctional officers are unable to see what is going on in more than one or two cells at a time. As a result, there is what is typically referred to as “intermittent supervision,” in that the correctional officers must patrol the corridors to observe inmates within the cells or dormitories. Patrol frequency and thoroughness may vary depending on the number of staff in the facility and the preferences of individual officers. Even in the best-operated linear jails, officers may be required to patrol the corridors only once or twice an hour. In the interval between patrols, inmates are essentially unsupervised and have ample opportunities to engage in misconduct. To compensate for the minimal staff supervision, high-security hardware such as bars, metal doors, electronic surveillance, and eavesdropping equipment are relied on to control aggressive inmate behavior. Heavy metal bars, for example, separate correctional officers from inmates and help to prevent inmate assaults against staff. Indestructible metal furnishings bolted to the ground or walls limit inmate vandalism, and reinforced concrete walls, metal fences, and razor wire hinder prisoner escapes. Yet not all destructive inmate behavior can be controlled by this hardware. Assaults, rapes, or even homicides may occur between inmates housed together in cells or dormitories. So too might inmate suicides, vandalism and property damage, extortion, robbery or other predation.

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