Design – Construction – Operations
NEW YORK — The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) released a policy brief on Sept. 25, 2012, highlighting a number of states reporting significant, reductions in recidivism.
TOPEKA, Kan. — A recent escape by four inmates from Ottawa County Jail in Minneapolis, Kan., sparked a proposal by lawmakers to restrict the types of inmates the Kansas Department of Corrections could house in county jails. However, the amendment was rejected with a 79-41 vote.
The escapees included one convicted murderer and three other inmates that were being held at the county jail due to overcrowding at the Kansas State Prison in Ellsworth, according to department spokesman Jeremy Barclay.
Read moreTOPEKA, Kan. — States throughout the U.S. are experiencing record high incarceration rates — including Kansas. The state’s Department of Corrections is addressing the issue and working on predicting where more problems could lie in the future.
There are currently 8,635 inmates housed in Kansas and the number continues to grow. The average men’s jail exceeds capacity by over 250 inmates and women’s facilities are reaching capacity quickly.
Read moreLEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The Federal Bureau of Prisons will hold a public meeting next week in Leavenworth on a proposal to build a new medium-security correctional facility on the grounds of the existing U.S. penitentiary.
The proposed facility would have 1,100 beds and would become part of a 3,600-inmate correctional complex that includes the penitentiary.
Residents will be allowed to voice their concerns and offer input at the meeting before the environmental impact study for the project’s prospective sites begins.
Contemporary correctional architecture tends to favor nondescript buildings that often resemble warehouses. Although communities invest heavily in those jails, correctional facilities often are excluded from the American city’s sense of civic pride. One of the exceptions to the rule is the new Douglas County Jail in Lawrence, Kansas.
In 1992, the people in Douglas County, Kan., began construction of a regional juvenile detention facility, intending to keep their kids close to home. Prior to that time, juveniles were transported to an adjacent county for detention, requiring officials and family to make a 50-mile roundtrip for each visit.
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| The footprint for the Lyon County Courthouse was long and narrow. |
Emporia, Kansas, has a population of about 26,760; the entire county’s population sits at just below 36,000. Its largest employer is a meat processor.
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