Located at 3450 South 900 West, the Salt Lake County Jail is an interesting place. I went there for a tour with other volunteers of the United Police Department. We met in the cold parking lot at 7:00, left our keys and other loose articles with an officer in the front office, and entered with badges identifying us as volunteers. The first room we saw was the line up room and I couldn't help but think of that one episode of Seinfeld.
Then we saw where people who are arrested are held until they get bailed out or housed. It was pretty interesting and a bit scary to have a roomful of men in orange oogling me. Then we saw where the actual cells are. There's a towerish thing in the middle of two rooms--one side for females, one for males. It's dark in the room of the tower and that way the guards can see out but the prisoners can't really see in. Although you can catch an outline of a figure if the lights are dim. And our tour guide told us the prisoners have an uncanny ability to tell who's guarding them just based on their movements and mannerisms. Interesting huh?
It makes sense because they don't have much else to do. Getting books out of the library as well as more time outside the cell all depend on a person's behavior. The max-level security prisoners get only one hour outside their cell a day! And they are tiny. We got to step inside an empty one and wow. There's a small toilet, round chair and a bunk bed, all cramped in a room probably the size of small corner. I would get so BORED! I think that, in itself, would be enough of a punishment for me to not break the law again.
Anyway volunteering should be pretty interesting. I'll post any exciting occurrences here!