- November 13, 2024
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The interior of a two-person cell. The new jail facility has 272 beds. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
A cell block, as seen from the control center at the center of the octagonal jail structure. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
Sgt. Timothy Abruzzo led tours of the jail during the July 7 event. About 110 people attended. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
Larger cell blocks can hold 32 people. Inmates had not yet been moved into the new facility as of the July 7 ribbon cutting. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
The new sally port can fit more prisoner transport vehicles than the old one. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
Inmates are allowed up to two 55-minute video visitation sessions per week. The video sessions replace the face-to-face visits used at the old jail. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
The two corrections deputies stationed at the center of the octagonal jail structure can view all of the cell blocks on a computer screen. (Photo by Jonathan Simmons)
Flagler County opened its new jail building to public view July 7 with fanfare normally used to mark the opening of happier facilities: a ribbon cutting, refreshments, tours, and speeches by local officials.
About 110 people came out for the opening of the new, $17,394,000 county jail building.
"The most important thing is that this is a much safer facility for our corrections deputies, and it's also much safer for the inmates," Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre said.
Inmates haven't yet been moved to the new structure from the adjacent old jail building: That will take place sometime in the coming weeks.
Construction took 17 months, and the new 53,450-square-foot, 272-bed jail building raises the county's jail capacity from 132 inmates to more than 400 inmates. The new building connects through a corridor to the older jail structure, which has been renovated and will now be used to house women.
But the benefit of the new facility isn't just in its ability to hold more people, Manfre told the July 7 visitors: It also lets corrections deputies separate inmates into 12 different cell blocks — women will have three, in the old facility — letting deputies keep those charged with serious crimes housed away from those charged with minor ones, and to break up rivalries and feuds. The old jail had three housing classifications for men, and only one for women.
"The jail was built for a different time when there were a lot less serious crimes," Manfre said. "As we've quadrupled since that time, we have more serious crime; it requires more classification."
Under the old four-level classification system, he said, "If you are a female arrested in this county, you are in the same cell with someone who is a homicide defendant, as well as people who are in jail for driving with a suspended license — not a good, effective way, or safe way, of classifying."
The 12 classifications will also let deputies separate out co-defendants and inmates who don't get along with each other, he said.
Some of the the new, octagon-shaped jail's cell blocks hold as many as 32 beds in a shared room with tables, phones, toilets and showers. Others have small cells that house two or four inmates at a time. There are recreation yards every three cell blocks, Sheriff's Office Corrections Special Operations Team Sgt. Timothy Abruzzo said as he lead visitors on a tour of the jail.
All of the cell blocks are visible from an elevated central command center on the jail's second story at the center of the octagon. The center is shaped like a guard tower, with walls of tinted glass to let deputies see out without inmates seeing in. Command center staff can also monitor inmates' activities through a set of computer screens linked to surveillance cameras.
The new jail also has a video visitation system, which will replace the face-to-face system used in the past. Computer screens inside the cell blocks connect to a set of screens in a separate room in the old jail building. The video visitation system is free for inmates and visitors, and inmates are allowed two 55-minute video visits per week.
Having so many of the things inmates need handled inside the cell blocks eases pressure on staff, Abruzzo said.
"It will be easier, I think, in the sense that most everything they need is going to be self-contained," he said. "It'll cut down on staffing for sure."
The facility also has a new, larger sally port, and an enlarged booking station that will let law enforcement officers compete and submit paperwork without being in the same room as the person they just arrested, who may be agitated by the arresting officer's presence, Abruzzo said.
The new jail building is expected to meet the county's needs for about 30 years. The county could undertake more phases of construction in the future to house more inmates.
