Overflow: Study: Jail must be replaced

Written by byron hensley | 07 September 2010

The Coffee County Jail, currently located in downtown Manchester, should be replaced with a 400-600 bed facility to be located in the county’s Joint Industrial Park, and the criminal court system should be moved there as well, according to a needs assessment study conducted for the county. “Based on projections from various population data, along with review of interaction between judicial and law enforcement departments and review of intake processes, consensus was obtained in a client work shop for an approximate 600 bed need for the Coffee County Jail. Four hundred beds was considered a minimal fallback position,” according to the Coffee County Justice Study released in May.
The study was conducted by SpiritArchitecture, a firm engaged by a committee of local government, judicial and law enforcement members looking at solutions to persistent overcrowding at the current jail. “The original priority, and still a priority, is to address the overcrowding and security issues at the Coffee County Jail,” according to the report.
The county has been warned by the Tennessee Corrections Institute that it needs to make plans to address conditions at the jail or risk being ordered to do so should an inmate successfully sue the county over jail conditions.
The study compares the alternative solutions of keeping the jail and justice center at their current location and making renovations to meet current and future needs, or moving both to a new location. A third solution, moving the jail but keeping the courts at their current location, was not desired by participants of the study. “This was primarily due to the additional staffing requirements and transportation costs that would be incurred.”
The solutions of staying and relocation were deemed to be of comparable cost, “Approximately a two to four percent difference,” with the first solution slightly less expensive from a short term construction perspective, an estimated $28.8 million versus $29.2 million. “However, when staffing and operations are considered, (relocation) becomes less expensive in short order. Also, Solution 1 (staying) expends significant dollars renovating existing structures almost 30 years old.”
According to the study, the existing site includes a Justice complex with judicial building, sheriff’s office and jail; the former Coffee County Schools’ “Bus Barn,” and residential structures on Rose Street. The site in its entirety is approximately 10 to 11 acres, and is surrounded by a “mixed use” neighborhood with residential, commercial and nearby industrial uses. The three buildings of the Justice complex total approximately 73,000 square feet, including the former high school gym converted into a courts building in 1981, a sheriff’s office and jail built at the same time, and a 6,000 square foot minimum security dormitory and training room added within the last 10 years.
The current jail was is licensed to house approximately 192 inmates, but typically houses 75 to 100 inmates over design capacity. The current jail utilizes manpower-intensive “linear inmate management,” in which cells line hallways. “Parenthetically, this approach is inherently staff inefficient.” A more efficient alternative would be a “pod” type layout in which all cells on a floor could be monitored by a central guard station.
Another major issue in the current jail is the inmate intake area. “The intake is virtually nonexistent, measuring approximately 200 square feet. The square footage range should be at least ten to twenty times as large. This is not an overstatement. The intake lacks adequate holding cells, change areas, work process areas, storage rooms, etc.”
“The critical importance of this area cannot be understated. Almost all inmate movement routes through the intake – processing arrestees, release, to court, etc. Further, the current design creates extra pressure by placing visitation in this same area. There are critical safety issues due to a complete inability to separate functions and traffic.
“The other support functions are also beyond capacity. The kitchen, laundry, and medical areas are too small and outdated with much of the equipment in need of replacement.”
The primary need of the Sheriff’s Office is additional office/work/storage space and an improved layout. “The department is divided by the public lobby. The Sheriff is directly visible immediately upon entering the front door. Road officers must cross the public lobby or pass through the jail to access their vehicles…In summary, the jail is at true and functional capacity.”
The report also notes that new needs for security for the judicial departments have developed in recent years. “Controlled parking, building and departmental access h;as become more and more prevalent. Even ‘clear zones’ taking into account explosions have become common place. These factors have been addressed in a very limited fashion at Coffee County.”
Based on a projection of low double digit growth for the county over the next two decades, a 400-500 bed jail is recommended, according to the study. However, if the county experiences exponential growth, a 600-900 bed jail may be needed.  
If the county elects to keep the jail at the current location, “Given the projected need to triple the bed capacity; (double as a minimum), the needed expansion to the jail support and the general lack of parking, this solution requires considering a major change to the existing site by acquiring additional property…and reorienting access to one of the major functions at the Justice complex,” the report says.  
While moving to the Joint Industrial Park would be more expensive than keeping the current site, the construction cost is on the whole comparable, due to the need to acquire land at the existing site versus already owning adequate property at the Joint Industrial Park, and the level of site work needed at the existing site.
The ability to have new infrastructure is one advantage of the industrial park. “Obviously, a new complex eliminates the need to renovate and/or live with structures already more than 30 years old,” says the report. A new facility would offer the ability to design buildings more efficient in use of staff and of energy.
“The major long term cost of the jail facility is in staff cost; hence, the need to focus on minimizing staff…Generally, a new design allows the construction of more energy efficient, green buildings based on the ability to use new technology in controls, equipment and building envelope design.”
The park also offers a more central location. “Both the city of Tullahoma and Manchester prefer a different location. The city of Tullahoma prefers a location that reduces travel time…The city of Manchester views the Justice Complex property as prime commercial space and would like the property to be returned to the tax rolls.”
According to the report, the industrial park site better allows for long term growth expansion, and greater compatibility with surrounding land uses. “The industrial site allows for avoidance of land uses that might be deemed sensitive to a detention facility such as schools, day cares, residential and commercial areas.”
One issue that would have to be addressed is the fact that Tennessee laws requires circuit court to be held in the county seat, and the park is not. One alternative would be for the cities to agree to allow Manchester to annex the property; another would be to seek a waiver from the state legislature.