Tour of new Madison Co. Jail boasts state-of-the-art kitchen, education area

In a tour open to the public on March 9, the Madison County Jail showcased its new and improved cells, medical facilities, state-of-the-art kitchen, educational areas and booking technology area, accommodating inmates and staff.

Cellblock improvements

Led by Lieutenant Myles Morrison, the first stop on the tour demonstrated how initiatives to limit movement in the facility have led to the implementation of a designated medical area in each of the 10 units. This way, doctors and nurses can enter cell blocks and treat minor issues in the medical area rather than inmates being transported to a different area of the facility for treatment.

"The higher the classification of the inmate, the less inmates we put in a cell," Morrison explained while pointing out the new 40-inmate housing unit that will be monitored by a single officer.

With the addition of a classroom in each block that provides inmates the opportunity to earn a GED or an associate's degree, a washer and dryer are also available for inmate use.

"What we're doing is treating our inmates like human beings, like rational adults," Morrison said. "A rational adult knows how to wash their socks and underwear, so we let them do that."

According to Morrison, a problematic pattern arose among some unruly inmates who in the past stuffed objects, such as socks, in the toilet in order to flood the unit, prompting immediate attention by maintenance. The intentional flooding often led inmates to take advantage of the situation by forcing officers to temporarily relocate them while maintenance fixed the cell's plumbing.

An improved feature of the new cell blocks is the lack of direct plumbing and electricity connected to each unit, allowing the officers control over toilet flushing if they so choose.

"Every single one of these units was built down in Alabama. It was put on a flatbed trailer; it was brought here, picked up with a crane and assembled like Legos," Morrison explained.

Officers can flush every toilet in the facility with the press of one button, set up flushing to be on a timed system every few hours, or give inmates the privilege of doing it themselves. Because the plumbing runs behind the cells, maintenance can now come to fix any issues without inmates knowing and ultimately achieving the jail's goal of limiting inmate movement.

Morrison described the old building as being repurposed with the initiation of a new system called "administrative segregation," similar to the concept of solitary confinement in which inmates are removed from the general population as a result of behavioral matters.

Cooking up an opportunity

In the jail's "state-of-the-art" kitchen, it has everything one would need including blenders, kettles, flat-top grills, convection ovens, multiple walk-in freezers and walk-in dry storage.

"If there is a food that needs to be made, we have the ability to make it and make it very well," Morrison said.

Morrison described that every jail in the country has to meet certain state and national standards for meal quality and that the Madison County Jail routinely exceeds those requirements. The jail also meets the dietary needs of inmates, including those who require kosher, low-sodium and even diabetic-specific meal plans.

Approximately 20 inmates will be given the opportunity to work in the kitchen and aid in the preparation and distribution of meals.

"That's 20 people that are serving their community, serving their time and helping cut costs of the taxpayers," Morrison said.

With consideration to safety measures, all of the knives in the kitchen are connected to steel cables and are accounted for before and after every shift. Morrison explained that even if a spoon were to go missing, for example, the entire jail would go on lockdown until the spoon is recovered.

A more thorough booking procedure

In 2022, the Madison County Jail booked over 10,000 individuals, according to Morrison. A number representative of more than 10% of the county's population, improvements to the booking process were warranted.

With the new full-body scanner available in the booking department, an individual will remove their shoes and any items they have in their pockets, while the technology is able to penetrate through layers of clothing to see if they are hiding anything.

The open waiting room present in the booking office follows the "rational adult" protocol the jail is attempting to follow. If an individual ceases to comply and behave, they will be placed in a floor-to-ceiling padded cell to combat potentially violent behavior.

These renovations and expansions to the Madison County Jail will allow the jail to not only increase its housing population but significantly improve safety measures.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Facility expansion and improved technology displayed in jail tour.