sidebar - New Jail Planning - NIC Resources
“This guide helps readers better understand the variables applied in jail capacity forecasting, provides more detail about the development of the jail snapshot (a jail assessment) and case-processing study (an analysis of adjudication decisions and timelines), and offers a framework for assessing key population management strategies across the system” (p. viii). Seven chapters comprise this publication: getting started; system assessment—jail population management strategies; the jail snapshot; case-processing study; jail capacity planning overview; the jai l capacity forecast—a county example; and planning for one empty bed.
Steps involved in developing an understanding of jail population dynamics and factors behind jail crowding are delineated. Sections of this report include: executive summary; how can factors behind jail crowding be identified?; key questions to ask in order to understand jail population dynamics; trends that are driving jail population growth; how to forecast future needs; benefits and elements of an effective analytic process; and elements of the analytic process. Appendixes include: "Preventing Jail Crowding: A Practical Guide" by Robert C. Cushman; jail survey form; data sources; proposed work plan for criminal justice analysts; and items to be included in the agency database.
Addresses architectural design as it relates to functional components of the jail, discusses overall design considerations, and reviews pre-design planning, renovation, construction costs, and facility transition.
A tool for reviewing conceptual options and schematic designs for new or renovated jails is presented. Five chapters make up this handbook: introduction and overview; the jurisdiction's involvement throughout the planning and design process; how to read architects' drawings; checklists; and conclusion and next steps.
This publication should be the first that elected officials and other policymakers turn to when developing jail facilities--either a new jail or expansion of an existing jail. All the participants’ roles, decisions they make, and the documents resulting from the process are covered. Sections of this manual explain: what the facility development process is; who the participants in the decision are; what types of decisions must be made; how much time and money are spent on each phase; and the nine phases with their respective tasks and track activities. A facility development process flowchart is also included.
Guidance is provided for successfully identifying, evaluating, and selecting jail sites. This bulletin contains the following sections: case study -- why systematic jail site selection is important; the SEQRA (state environmental quality review act) model; preliminary considerations; five-step site selection process; case study -- the cost of overreacting to public concerns; case study -- an example of rural site selection; case study -- an example of jail expansion on an urban site; case study -- a good neighbor by design; case study -- creative solutions to public concerns; case study -- connecting the jail to the courthouse; and conclusion. Appendixes include a sample site selection evaluation form and a sample key data display.
This publication "reviews the history of correctional law and summarizes the results and effects of major court decisions" (p. 4). Sections comprising this document include: introduction; history of court involvement; corrections and the Constitution in a new century; the Constitution and the physical plant; understanding Section 1983 lawsuits; how courts evaluate claims -- the balancing test; the First Amendment; the Fourth Amendment; the Eighth Amendment -- overview; the 8th Amendment -- use of force; the 8th Amendment -- medical care; the 8th Amendment -- conditions of confinement; the Fourteenth Amendment; consent decrees; some final thoughts; glossary; and selected cases.
This video explores the lessons learned by four communities that built new jails. The communities utilized the four major steps of the Facility Developmental Process model:
- Determine the need and feasibility;
- Decide to build, plan operations;
- Design the jail;
- And build the jail, plan the transition.
"[T]his resource document will assist agencies starting the process of planning for a successful transition to a new detention facility" (p. iii). Nine chapters comprise this manual: introduction; transitional management; construction; staff/human resources; document development; training and orientation; furniture, fixtures, equipment, and supplies; move logistics; and transition themes of managing change and community relations.
