Whiteville Jail

The following is a proposal for the construction and operation of a new jail in Whiteville, North Carolina. The current jail was designed for 150 individuals at one given time, while on a daily basis, there are at least 287 inmates incarcerated, which means the jail is way over capacity. Due to the jail being over capacitated, the jail can’t meet the minimum standards for a correctional facility. It’s over capacitation creates issues for the inmate to bathroom ratio. The male housing units have 3 shower and 3 toilets while the female unit only has one of each. For a dormitory style facility there should be at least 1 toilet and 1 shower for every 10 inmates. In addition to being over capacitated, the old jail does not have a way to separate
Most of the issues regarding the old facility is that there isn’t enough space. The jail was designed for fewer people than it holds. The size also impacts the amount of staff and services that the jail is able to provide to offenders. Food must be brought in from an outside source and there is only 1 person for medical staff who doesn’t even work half a week. Consequences of not building a new jail are the already 45 year old jail falling apart in addition to not meeting jail standards. Because the old jail is not equipped with the staff or the space to care for mental health patients. Suicide rates in the jail may rise because there is no one there to treat the inmates and no safe space for them to go. Whiteville, North Carolina is located in a very rural area, and property is always up for sale. In order to build the jail, we can buy property from a local person or from the state. Although the town of Whiteville is very rural there will the process of building the jail will have a definite impact on the environment. Tress will need to be cleared from the area before any building can take place causing the wild life to move elsewhere. Building the jail near homes may also cause the value of those homes to decrease since we will be housing criminals as well as increasing the taxpayer dollars in the area to fund the building and operation of
Only female and males ages 18 and older will be housed in the jail. Restrictive housing units will be available for inmates suffering from mental health issues as well as units for LGBTQ inmates and pregnant inmates who may feel threatened. Health screenings will be provided upon entry for mental health, any communicable or sexually transmitted diseases. Medical co pay plans will also be in place for those inmates having a hard time paying for their health care. The new jail will also contain classrooms that will be used to educate offenders on re-entry to society. Some other classes offered will be for inmates that want to learn a trade, such as cooking, electrical work and other programs. Studies show that inmates who receive vocational training and education are less likely to be incarcerated again. One of the goals of the new jail is to ensure that inmates have learned from their time in jail and do not have to come