A Day In The Life of An Inmate
I often get asked what it’s like being an inmate in the Hubbard County Detention Center. Having never been an inmate myself I can’t speak with first person knowledge but as someone that works in the jail I think I can provide some insight.
As a newly arrested inmate or someone that is reporting for a sentence your first stop will be Booking.
Your First Stop
During the booking process you’ll be searched, changed into jail issued orange clothing, your property will be inventoried and bagged up and we will gather demographic data that you are required by law to provide.
First impressions are very important. If you treat us respectfully and cooperate during the booking process we will treat you respectfully and your stay at the HCDC will be much less unpleasant. If you choose to be disrespectful, act belligerently or assaultive toward us or if you’ve come into our facility under the influence of alcohol or drugs you will likely find yourself in one of the holding cells shown along the right hand side of the above photo. These are special jail cells designed to minimize the risk of injury to an inebriated inmate that a normal cell might present but they also serve as a more controlled housing unit allowing better management by staff of agitated, violent and out of control inmates. They are furnished with the basics but are not a fun place to be. Holding cells are monitored by camera 24 hours a day.
A typical holding cell
Newley arrested inmates will typically stay in a holding cell until they appear in court which is usually the next day. Court can choose to hold an inmate under sentence (for probation violations), release the inmate on their own recognizance, or set bail. If the inmate is held or bail is set Corrections Officers will classify [1] that person to determine their custody level which will in turn determine where they are housed. Once we’re sure the person is free of alcohol and/or mood altering chemicals the inmate will be moved to the appropriate housing unit. Sentenced inmates that are reporting to do their jail time will typically be classified and moved to the appropriate housing unit the same day. You may or may not have a cell mate with which you’ll have to share a 10 by 7 foot cell that includes 2 bunks, a toilet and and a sink. Hope you’re not modest.
Once placed in a housing unit your typical day starts with medication pass at 06:30 and then at approximately 07:00 all inmates are let out of lockdown to receive and eat breakfast. After breakfast you’ll be required to clean your individual cell as well as help clean the common day room. TV’s and phones aren’t turned on until the housing unit passes inspection by a Corrections Officer. After inspection you might make a court appearance, watch TV, make phone calls, use the recreation room and participate in programs and other activities until 11:00. You can also take advantage of Correctional Health Services during certain days of the week. At 11:00 all inmates are locked down into their individual cells.
At 12:00 lunch is served and inmates are let out of their individual cells. Meals are nothing to write home about but they aren’t too bad and do meet the nutritional requirements mandated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections [2].
Afternoons are similar to mornings: dayroom activities, programs and court appearances. Visits with attorneys, social services and clergy happen throughout the day. At 4:00 you’ll once again be locked down until supper. Supper is served at 5:00 and at 5:30 you are locked down for shift change. At 6:30 you are let out into your day room again and can take advantage of evening programs. You’ll be locked down again at 10:30 and stay locked in your individual cell until morning.
Housing Unit Day Room
If you are sentenced your day would look a little different. Minnesota statute allows that a sentenced inmate “if required to labor, has labored with diligence and fidelity”. Sheriff Aukes strongly believes that an inmate convicted of a crime and sentenced to jail should work and give something back to our county. I can’t speak for everyone that works here but I certainly agree with this philosophy and I think most staff agree as well. You may be assigned to work in a number of different areas in the Detention Center as well as on Hubbard County’s Sentenced To Service crew. You’ll start work at anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 and your work day will end at around 5:00. You may also be assigned to work in the Detention Center laundry and/or washing Sheriff’s Office vehicles and this work continues into the evening hours.
Corrections Officers inspect cells everyday to make sure inmates are keeping them clean and hygienic, aren’t damaging anything and to look for contraband. Contraband is anything not allowed in the jail but can also be items allowed in the jail that have been altered from their original state. Obvious items considered contraband are weapons that have been fashioned from jail issued property, “hootch” and items that have been smuggled in. Possessing too much of a jail approved item like sheets, towels, etc., is also considered contraband. Something as innocuous as a packet of pepper can be considered contraband if you are found to be hoarding it because in large quantities pepper can be used as a weapon.
In addition to the daily inspections Corrections Officers will “Shake down” a housing unit on a random but regular basis in order to find anything that inmates aren’t allowed to have. During a shake down inmates in the unit are moved to a different area of the jail, usually a recreation area or the library. Corrections Officers will then go through every cell as well as adjacent day rooms, searching for contraband and for damage to county property. If you are found to have contraband in your cells or in your possession you will face serious disciplinary consequences as well as additional criminal charges.
If you run afoul of Detention Center rules your day will look much different than what I’ve described above. Inmates found to have broken rules will be segregated from other inmates and spend 23 hours out of each day locked down in their individual cell. You will be allowed out of your cell for one hour per day to attend to daily hygiene, make phone calls and use the recreation room. Lock down is mentally and physically taxing and very unpleasant.
Some inmates won’t even see the main housing units. If you are arrested for a misdemeanor DWI for instance, you will spend the night in a holding cell and once the booking process, including fingerprints and mugshots, has been completed, you will most likely be released when you can provide a .00 breath sample on a PBT (Preliminary Breath Test).
That’s a quick and dirty look at what it’s like to be an inmate in our facility and I hope you found it informative. To some, the above might seem harsh and overly regimented. We do things the way we do because safety is our first priority. Some of the things we do and the way we operate the facility might seem odd but everything we do is an attempt to provide as safe an environment as possible for staff, volunteers and inmates. We take our safety and that of the inmates in our custody very seriously.
To others, the above may not seem harsh enough. Once again, we operate this way because it has been proven to be the safest way to operate a detention facility. To those that fall into this second category I invite you to come spend some time in our facility. I say that in jest but do understand that we have room for you if you do decide to make poor decisions. It’s all about choices after all. Most of us never make the poor choices that ultimately result in jail time. For those that do, rest assured that we’re open 24 hours a day 365 days per year and have room for you.
↩ I plan to post about the classification process in a future post.
↩ Breakfast consists of cold cereal, fruit, juice and a breakfast bar. Lunch is a hot meal that usually consists of a main entree, a vegetable, bread and a desert. Supper is sandwiches, a cold salad, chips and a desert.
EDIT: A typical lunch of tatertot hotdish, vegetables, a roll and some bars. It’s served with a fortified juice.
Yum!
From → Corrections
