Design – Construction – Operations
LONDON — The United Kingdom government scrapped its controversial $4.8 billion plan to construct three 2,500-bed prisons and will instead build a series of 1,500-bed prisons to expand bed capacity in England and Wales.
The revised proposal calls for up to five smaller prisons that will deliver up to 7,500 beds — the same number of beds as the scrapped large-prison plan — at a cost of $5.1 billion.
Read moreCHARLOTTE, N.C. — With a newly completed $17 million jail annex alleviating short-term overcrowding issues, Mecklenburg County officials postponed a planned 1,700-bed jail expansion until 2010.
The Mecklenburg County Jail expansion is one of approximately 75 planned construction projects throughout the county put on hold as officials re-assess the county’s building needs, fiscal health and debt burden during the recession.
Read moreWASHINGTON — The prevalence of serious mental illness among female jail inmates is twice the rate of that among male inmates, according to a two-phase study that screened more than 21,000 adult offenders entering five local jails in New York and Maryland.
More than 30 percent of female inmates suffer from at least one serious mental health disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression, compared to 15 percent of male inmates, according to researchers at the Council of State Governments Justice Center.
Read moreSTAFFORD, Va. — Local officials unveiled a new $49 million, 432-bed addition to the Rappahannock Regional Jail that was completed in 18 months to help alleviate overcrowding.
The two-story podular addition incorporates a mezzanined four-level housing configuration that delivers 432 beds. The new pod is designed as a hybrid classification setting that can accommodate medium- to maximum-security inmates.
Read moreCHARLESTON, W. Va. — A state commission created to investigate overcrowding at West Virginia prisons issued several recommendations to solve the problem, including construction of a new medium-security prison.
The cornerstone of recommendations for new construction submitted to Gov. Joe Manchin is a 1,200-cell, medium-security prison that would cost $100 million to $200 million. The location for the proposed prison is yet to be determined.
Read moreWASHINGTON — Federal Prison Industries will close or downsize factory operations at 18 prisons across 14 states as part of a restructuring plan to reduce mounting loses.
The program, also known as UNICOR, operates 109 factories at 76 locations throughout the United States. It will lose $20 million this fiscal year and is struggling with excess production capacity due to deteriorating market conditions, officials say.
Read moreCOLUMBUS, Ohio — State inmates began receiving one fewer meal per day on weekends and holidays, beginning in August, but the cost-savings initiative will not reduce the amount of food served to inmates, according to corrections officials.
Under the plan, inmates at the state’s 32 prisons receive brunch instead of breakfast and lunch. The brunch plan delivers the same amount of food as the out-going three-meal system.
“The brunch meal plan was a result of a joint labor and management cost savings committee,” says JoEllen Culp, prisons spokeswoman.
Read moreOKLAHOMA CITY — County officials are looking at ways to reduce a proposed $391 million price tag for a new Oklahoma County Adult Detention Center.
The proposed facility is one of two options the county is considering to replace or repair its current detention center, a 20-year-old jail that is expensive to operate and staff and does not address the county’s inmate overcrowding problem, says County Commissioner Ray Vaughn.
Read moreWASHINGTON — Federal officials announced a reform plan for immigration detention that aims to standardize operations and move away from the current practice of housing detainees at state and local facilities.
During the next three to five years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will design facilities in an effort to improve immigration detention system oversight, conditions, medical care and fiscal efficiency, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Read moreWASHINGTON — Steelmakers are cutting production in response to the declining demand and decreasing prices in domestic and global markets
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