View Full Version : MAPS for prisoners?



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Midtowner
11-19-2009, 10:25 AM
making it smaller is an interesting choice. Weren't they using excess bad space to hold inmates for others at a fee, helping with operational costs until the beds were needed due to local growth.

Curious also how new and not downtown saves 234M in operational costs over renovating downtown? Seems a Q a reporter might have asked. Maybe ran out of alloted space and there will be a followup. One can dream.

I would guess it's because a less urban facility can be built more horizontally, make less efficient, but better use of space, etc.

I just wonder whether they're going to move the judges doing arraignments down to the new jail. It'd make sense except many of those lawyers have other cases set on different floors at around the same time.

mugofbeer
11-19-2009, 10:50 AM
Maybe they could use the old brick pit west of AMC on 10th street and build horizontally downward........ (smile)

bombermwc
11-19-2009, 02:09 PM
I wish we would also put in a temporary tax to rebuild the county courthouse and offices. Those places are in really bad shape and look horrible. I wonder how much it woudl cost to renovate the jail to be new offices...hahaha.

But seriously, how would anyone else feel about that? You know, one really good thing about it is that it could serve as a new skyscraper downtown as well. Similar sized cities have made county offices into really really really nice towers.

kevinpate
11-19-2009, 02:45 PM
I just wonder whether they're going to move the judges doing arraignments down to the new jail.

nah, just increase the use of closed circuit video, which seems to be growing more popular with every passing year.

circled9
11-19-2009, 02:48 PM
1. We really dont have a choice. If we dont build it, the feds will.
2. If we do build rather than renovate, I do hope that we will keep the old jail and use it to lock juvenile offenders up. It could be a multi county or even a state wide lockup. I get tired to hearing that some kid who had done something really bad was released to the custody of his parents because there are not enough beds. At least this would give us some value added for our tax investment.

kevinpate
11-19-2009, 02:51 PM
... I get tired to hearing that some kid who had done something really bad was released to the custody of his parents because there are not enough beds. At least this would give us some value added for our tax investment.

Gonna need another tax still yet to staff and maintain those additional beds.
You thinking of taking the point on that campaign? Call Wetsale, he'll love ya.

Midtowner
11-19-2009, 02:55 PM
1. We really dont have a choice. If we dont build it, the feds will.
2. If we do build rather than renovate, I do hope that we will keep the old jail and use it to lock juvenile offenders up. It could be a multi county or even a state wide lockup. I get tired to hearing that some kid who had done something really bad was released to the custody of his parents because there are not enough beds. At least this would give us some value added for our tax investment.

#1, agree. It's not a question of if, but when. And if the feds build it, they'll build it out of moonrock and platinum.

#2, I haven't heard that idea, but it's excellent. Also, DHS could probably make a mint off of auctioning the current facility (Chesapeake would love that location which happens to be right in the middle of their campus) to pay for the renovations which would be needed to either build new courtrooms and offices or renovate part of the jail to include those facilities.

smooth
11-19-2009, 03:00 PM
1. We really dont have a choice. If we dont build it, the feds will.
2. If we do build rather than renovate, I do hope that we will keep the old jail and use it to lock juvenile offenders up. It could be a multi county or even a state wide lockup. I get tired to hearing that some kid who had done something really bad was released to the custody of his parents because there are not enough beds. At least this would give us some value added for our tax investment.

A detention officer who was visiting my place of employment told me the county wanted a prison like campus near Chocktaw. This is a VERY good idea because it could be on a section of land which will allow easy expansion.

Yes. The current facility was a disater. And yes. The federal Government will trake control of the faclility and build a new one which the county will have three years to repay. Plus the county will not have any decision authority on looks, location or anything. And one more yes. It will cost less to rebuild. Especially with an expansion plan in place.

I will be voting a very friendly yes.

hoya
11-19-2009, 04:22 PM
Don't stick juveniles in that hell hole. County is an awful place. If it's unfit for current inmates, what makes you think it will be any better for kids?

mrbob
11-19-2009, 04:51 PM
Do them like that one warden does. Put them in tents and pink jumpsuits, socks and underwear. Play Debbie Boone song , YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE. Put a few Barry Manilow songs on the PA. I bet the population would go down. Hey it worked for him.

Midtowner
11-19-2009, 06:51 PM
Do them like that one warden does. Put them in tents and pink jumpsuits, socks and underwear. Play Debbie Boone song , YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE. Put a few Barry Manilow songs on the PA. I bet the population would go down. Hey it worked for him.

It gets too cold here for that to work.

iron76hd
11-20-2009, 08:43 AM
Don't stick juveniles in that hell hole. County is an awful place. If it's unfit for current inmates,
Cry me a river!!! Poor inmates..:doh:
It's not supposed to be a place one want to go to. I suggest you look into the conditions of other prisons around the world. I feel ours are acceptable to say the least.

neverontime
11-20-2009, 09:01 AM
Cry me a river!!! Poor inmates..:doh:
It's not supposed to be a place one want to go to. I suggest you look into the conditions of other prisons around the world. I feel ours are acceptable to say the least.

You are correct! It is not a place that anyone should want to go. But as a civilized nation, we can't allow people to die from neglect and overcrowding. Look at the problems Gitmo created. We must be HUMANE... After all we are HUMAN!

Suppose something happens to one of your love ones. maybe a child or grandchild walks out of a bar in bricktown and get's a public intox or something minor that requires him or her to be held over night in jail. Unlikely im sure, but not impossible. What if he/she is one of the minor offenders who is chained to the cell and dies in their vomit, killed by a violent prisoner because they are two crowded to separate the population, or badly hurt or not treated if they have an illness.

It's much more than just not feeling bad for offenders. It could affect you, me or anyone in this county, even if you never go to jail!!

Remember that.

kd5ili
11-20-2009, 12:17 PM
A couple of comments. The cost is so expensive not because of 'prisoner comforts' but from all of the security and safety equipment required by State and Federal law. Also, the current jail was built in 1991 with 1200 cells...probably appropriate at the time with the growth that they expected, but a lot changes in 18 years.

We could just ship them all to Texas...:bright_id

-Chris-

circled9
11-20-2009, 01:55 PM
Cry me a river!!! Poor inmates..:doh:
It's not supposed to be a place one want to go to. I suggest you look into the conditions of other prisons around the world. I feel ours are acceptable to say the least. But if the major problem is overcrowding and it is built for 1200, we could easily fit 1000 into the existing structure without it being overcrowded. Obviously, we would not have prisoners chained in the hallways if there were enough cells. Also we would not be placing the kid who got busted for underage drinking in bricktown on even the same floor as the kid who just robbed a convenience store. Hopefully there would be some common sense involved. Maybe I am just tired of hearing that a kid who committed an armed robbery was released because there were not enough juvenile offender beds. If there is a structure available, it would seem to make good business sense to use it even if some upgrades are needed. If the juvenile offenders knew that they were not going to be released to their parents, they may think twice before committing the crime.

decepticobra
11-20-2009, 02:11 PM
all okc officials talk about anymore is MAPS. ...maps this, maps that...blah, blah, blah.

MAPS spelled backwards is SPAM.

hoya
11-20-2009, 04:04 PM
Cry me a river!!! Poor inmates..:doh:
It's not supposed to be a place one want to go to. I suggest you look into the conditions of other prisons around the world. I feel ours are acceptable to say the least.

First, it's not a prison. It's a county jail. The people inside it have not been convicted yet.

I represented a woman on a child stealing case who spent four months in that jail before the ADA caught her "victim" in a lie. Turns out my lady really did have custody of the kid. The ADA promptly dismissed the case, because my client hadn't committed a crime.

I had another client who was arrested for possession of PCP. He spent two months in jail before the ADA finally got back the laboratory reports which said... it wasn't PCP. It was some pseudo-drug he'd bought at a smoke shop which just happens to be 100% legal.

Both of those cases happened within the last few months. The lady got out in July and the guy got out in October. Neither had broken the law. People in the county jail have not been convicted yet, and many of them are innocent.

Second, Oklahoma County Jail is one of the worst jails in the country. It's dangerous, unhealthy, unsafe, poorly maintained, etc. It does NOT match up with the standards we have for jails in the United States.


But if the major problem is overcrowding and it is built for 1200, we could easily fit 1000 into the existing structure without it being overcrowded. Obviously, we would not have prisoners chained in the hallways if there were enough cells. Also we would not be placing the kid who got busted for underage drinking in bricktown on even the same floor as the kid who just robbed a convenience store. Hopefully there would be some common sense involved. Maybe I am just tired of hearing that a kid who committed an armed robbery was released because there were not enough juvenile offender beds. If there is a structure available, it would seem to make good business sense to use it even if some upgrades are needed. If the juvenile offenders knew that they were not going to be released to their parents, they may think twice before committing the crime.

Give me a case number or a name. I want to see if you can find a kid who committed armed robbery and was released to his parents.