City of Angels Penitentiary

The federal government will be constructing a high rise prison in the Southern California area. The location will be targeted for the Blythe Area. It will be a medium security prison containing adult male offenders from ages of eighteen and up. Constructing this prison will be quite the task, as it will be fifteen stories high. The first two levels of this prison will consist of admission for new inmates, the medical wing, cafeteria, kitchen, and security headquarters. If required, inmates will be securely housed in appropriate hospital wings for treatment. These medical wings will be able to treat inmates with a variety of illnesses. Among these two levels there will be a recreation area and a place to eat. Surrounding the prison structure there will be a basketball court with an outside area to get some sun and fresh air. Inmates living on the remaining thirteen stories will be divided according to inmate physical health, crime, and behavior. These thirteen floors will consist of cells that will house no more then two inmates each in order to lower stress correlated with crowded prisons. Inmates will be assigned with cellmates that can peacefully live together. This will be achieved through interviews and evaluations conducted by prison staff. A total of 1000 inmates will be housed in this institution. There will also be cells constructed for inmates who are suicidal or in solitary confinement.
 In order to better focus their resources on the rehabilitation of inmates with a different set of needs, this institution will not intake mentally challenged/special needs offenders. The goal of this institution is to focus on inmate health, rehabilitation, and the decrease of gang activity within the prison. 

To better help our environment and financial situation, this prison will be adding enough solar panel cells to sustain itself. The money once used for electricity will now be directed torwards other inmate wellness and recovery programs. For the skeptics, this prison will be backed up with hardline power incase of power cell failure and generators capable of powering security systems and necessary lighting. 

(Design could be changed)

Along with solar power, all inmate housing will be cooled by swamp coolers. Swamp coolers use 25% of the energy a standard commercial air conditioner would use. These systems will still maintain a livable environment for the the inmates along with saving money. Again, the money saved by the use of swamp coolers will be diverted to inmate rehabilitation and wellness programs. 

Philosophy:

The philosophy of this institution is focused around inmate rehabilitation. We understand that inmates come from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is to spend quality time assessing each person and working to the best of our ability to help rehabilitate them. We aim to encourage a balance between the spiritual, physical, and mental aspects of inmates. Spiritual wellness will be gained according to individual. Spiritual programs will be modeled after a common system of recovery used for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. We believe that a necessary step for inmates is to build a healthy self awareness. Ultimately this will depend on our staff to create a willingness for rehabilitation among the inmates. We aim to provide the necessary staff, programs, education, health services, food, and other necessary programs and professionals to help provide the best environment for our inmates. All this will be provided in order to successfully safely integrate these individuals back into society as healthy human beings.

Staff:

• Guards on every floor 
• Guards will be stationed in medical area
• Guards will be stationed in recreation area
• Guards will be in administration area (entrance, exits, outside areas, cafeteria, and main security room)
• 1 chief of security
• 1 prison warden
• Cooks (will consist of inmates)
• Release authority 
• Medical Doctors, Psychiatrists, and Therapists will be on call
• Volunteers (AA, NA, SAA, etc.)
• Certified Educators (For inmate certificate, GED, and Associates degrees.)
• Chaplains (will be assisted by an inmate(s) of their choice)
• Maintenance staff
• Janitorial staff (will consists of inmates)
• Police (transportation staff included)

Services offered here at City of Angels Penitentiary:

Religious- Christian and non-Christian services will be offered on a weekly basis. There will also be a chaplain on campus that will be available for inmate use. Religion will be an optional service offered to inmates, in order to avoid pressing religion on offenders who are not interested. 

Vocational- Vocational servies will be offered for inmates who are interested getting involved in a manual labor field. Services offered will be: Home repair, mechanical, and other various educational programs.

Education: Services for AA degrees, certificates, and GED's will be offered. We will be bringing in professors specializing in multiple subject. There will also be classrooms where inmates will be able to be lectured to via "video conference". A library will be available for inmates to use. 

Mental Health Services and inmate Evaluation: Psychologists will be available for inmate evaluation. They will be evaluating the mental and emotional state of the prisoners. Psychiatrists will be available for inmates with mental health issues such as multiple personality disorder, bi-polar disorder, etc. Therapy sessions will be offered for prisoners interested in the service. Prisoners may also be required to be evaluated or attend therapy sessions.

Work Programs- Work release will not be offered for inmates in this institution. However, depending on inmate behavior inmates may have the opportunity to work inside the prison. Being able to work will give inmates a sense of responsibility, which in turn will aid in inmate rehabilitation.  

Health Care- There will be a medical wing located in the prison. This service will be available to all inmates. They will be fully covered for any injury or mental health issue. They will have yearly checkups to evaluate general health. All drug testing will take place in the Medical Wing.

Visitation Services- These services will be offered once a week (Saturday & Sunday). Family members, intimate others, and legal advisors will be allowed into the prison in two hours increments once every two weeks.

Support Groups: Daily support groups meeting will be held in this institution such as AA, NA, SAA, GA, Al-Anon, Anger Management. Other group therapy services will be help along with one on one counseling. 

Physical Fitness- Group physical fitness sessions will be offered. Programs such as Yoga, Pilates, and therapeutic meditation programs will be available on a weekly basis. Inmates will be able to attend depending on behavior. 

The Privilege System at City of Angels Penitentiary:

Inmates will be expected to follow direction from prison staff at all times. They will be expected to know prison rules and regulation and be expected to follow them at all times. 

Any insubordination will result in a loss of privileges such as working, petitions to lower security wings, visitations, physical fitness programs, and recreation time. Depending on the severity of trouble, inmates will be put into solitary confinement until further evaluation takes place. Once inmates are punished, they will be expected to know that they have to earn their privileges back. 

Snitching will be rewarded. Privileges can be earned back in snitching benefits the prisons staff. If snitching is proved to be accurate, then inmates may receive monetary rewards along with more freedom in prisons. If needed, increased security security will be applied. 

With the exception of inmates in solitary confinement, inmates will still be required to attend therapy sessions, and support groups. 

Punishment will be served for: Drug use, sexual activity, alcohol use, fights, gang activity, smuggling any type of paraphenalia harmful to inmates and and staff, insubordination to prisons staff, lying, and failure to attend required therapy and group support sessions. 

Each offense will be assessed individually. We understand that no two inmates are alike, and to better the rehabilitation aspect, we will be assessing punishment depending on each inmate. 

Organizational Style

This prison will not incorporate methods from the inmate self-government style in order to avoid an inevitable course towards self-destruction. Studies have shown that selecting inmates in charge, and selecting inmates as discipliners is not always a proactive method. In some cases it creates a superiority complex, which is a recipe for increased tension towards other inmates. This could be a further reason for inmates to riot, fight, resort to drugs and alcohol, and be insubordinate to prisons staff and other inmates.

J. E. Baker. (March, 1964). Inmate self government. The Journal of Criminal Law,           Criminology, and Police Science. Vol. 55, No. 1 (Mar., 1964), pp. 39-47Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/stable/1140452

Unfortunately, tragedies do happen within a prison. In order to reduce further violence due to inmate retaliation, two ombudsman will be working on the prison staff. These individuals will be responsible for all grievance situations. In order to fight against rumors and retaliation, all information will be kept confidential. If further investigation is necessary, then these two individuals will be responsible for carrying out the necessary steps.

The management style of this prison will incorporate ideas from both the participative and military perspectives. High expectations will be placed on prisoners to attend all of their required therapy, class, and work schedules. Missing these, or skipping out on an appointment will result in punishment, and/or removal or an earned privilege. All prisons staff will be adequately trained to be able to handle inmates. As a result, inmates will be expected to follow any and all directions given to them from the prison staff. There will be a hierarchy in prison management, which will be similar to that of military rankings.

Emergency Management

Contraband: If discovered, inmate privileges will be suspended or permanently taken away. Inmates that are frequent violators of this will be subject to daily searches by prison staff. There will be a zero tolerance for contraband of any kind. Upon warden discretion, violation of this rule could result in placement in solitary confinement or removal from this prison.

Sexual relations with other inmates will NOT be tolerated. This will be dealt with by separating inmates who violate this rule. Whether there was consent or no consent, this will not be tolerated. A sexual encounter where no consent was given will be treated like a sexual assault. This will result in inmate conviction, which will end up in removal from the prison.

Alcohol/substance abuse- There is a zero tolerance policy on alcohol and drug abuse. Inmates will be randomly drug and alcohol tested. Any violations will result in mandatory therapy and group support sessions. There will be a loss of privileges, and more work hours (No pay). It will be left to the discretion of the warden to either remove of keep the inmate within the prison facility.

Assaults will be handled with the most severity. Prisons riot control staff will be instantly deployed in any situation. They will arrive on scene, separate the inmates involved, and place them in solitary confinement cells until further punishment is determined. There will be no tolerance for hostility. Prison staff will investigate to determine the chance of further violence as a result from initial incident. All people who are suspected of involvement will be questioned and held accountable.

Prison riots will be handled with extreme caution. All prison staff will be trained in riot control. Gas, mace grenades, batons, and rifle-fired beanbags will be used in situations where inmates pose a serious threat. All methods used in control will be non-lethal. Riot control will always be on the lookout by conducting constant investigations. These investigations will provide prison staff with an overall idea of the prisons stability. If individuals are found to be plotting, they will be removed from the general prisons community and put into a more secure location.  Local police will be trained to respond to this facility whenever there is a riot.

Inmate Strike- There will be zero tolerance for organized inmate striking. There will be a loss of all inmate privileges. Small details will still be used for prison maintenance, but overall prison activities will cease. Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure there is a quick resolution. Inmates responsible for the organization of these strikes will be severely punished. They could be removed from the general population, or the prison. This will be left at the discretion of the warden.