Brand New County Jail Is Closed
Due to budget cuts, the $22 million, California-based Tulare County Pre-Trial Facility, which was designed to hold up to 384 prisoners, was closed with only a small number of federal and state prisoners currently being held there on contract. The Sheriff’s Department does not expect to reopen the facility to county prisoners in the near future with most of the 20 positions it applied for in the newest budget going toward patrol and investigations.
The facility itself was equipped with the latest technology, such as a pod design to allow one guard to manage about 50 prisoners and a prison property management system that stores personal belongings in a system similar to a dry cleaners.
One of the most innovative aspects of the facility is its in-house courtroom, which is currently closed, that allows arraignments without the need to transport prisoners from the facility to the courthouse.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Fresno Bee (CA) (11/07/05) P. A1; Bragg, Tim.
