L tours the jail.

In the District, there are two jails, which are side-by-side. The detention center is managed by the District's Department of Corrections; the treatment center is operated by a private company. Both house inmates of the District, many of whom are awaiting trial. 

The treatment center  (which we toured today) is a lot nicer than the detention center. It's newer, and its purpose includes rehabilitation, which means that it has programs for inmates, including academic and vocational schooling, as well as drug rehabilitation. Also, because it is privately owned, more attention is paid to deterring riots by servicing the inmates (as opposed to reactionary tactics often used at the detention center, where the riots occurred last week). 

But not everyone gets to go to the treatment center. All female inmates of the District go there; and snitches (those who are testifying against other inmates and have protective orders against them) are housed at the treatment center. Other inmates are also incarcerated at the treatment center (because the detention facility has overflow), but only low to medium threat inmates. This is because the treatment center is not equipped to handle high threat inmates. 

High threat inmates (who are not snitches) must be housed at the detention center, which has barbed wire and a guard tower (with an armory inside). 

In all jails, The Count is the most important part. The Count is when every inmate is locked in his or her cell, and counted. The Count occurs six times every 24 hours at the treatment center. At the detention center, The Count occurs three times during the day, and every hour on the hour at night. Since inmate populations are quite large (the treatment center has more than a thousand inmates), The Count can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. 

Between counts, during the day, many inmates are allowed to have free time in their own cellblock, which may contain TVs and showers. Many inmates also have certain hours they can use The Yard, go to churches, attend classes, or use indoor recreation centers. 

The cells themselves are tiny. There's a toilet and a sink and a bunk bed. At the treatment center, the cells were originally made for only one person, but because of prison overcrowding, a bed was added on top of the original bed to make each cell a double. The beds are small and uncomfortable, with a mat for a mattress (so small that even I would have trouble fitting!)

Both jails have solitary confinement, known as The Hole. After the riot last week, as many as 30 inmates were put in The Hole. 

Rumor has it the riot occurred over cold meals (The inmates get three meals a day provided by--none other than the same company ousted two years ago at my own sweet college--Aramark). Apparently, a few inmates were fighting (code blue) before dinner was served, and the officers sent everyone back to their cells. 

After a few hours, the inmates were finally let out of their cells and into the cafeteria, only to find that their meals were cold. They asked for the meals to be reheated, but the officers simply pretended to reheat them. This upset inmates, who felt that this was the latest of a long series of grievances and maltreatment, and the inmates refused to return to their cells for The Count. Knives tied to broomstick handles may have been used by inmates who "demonstrated." The officers decided to break out the tear gas. The inmates were quickly subdued (and probably beaten). 

Riots spread quickly, so after the riot, both jails were put on lockdown for a week. 

All in all, I think my tour, and recent experiences with the jails, have convinced me that we need to privatize corrections in order to better service inmates and still maintain the safety of the community.