Interview with Tim, Bob, Peter, Iris, Pat, Elsie, Kathleen, George and Amber
JM: How many different blocks were there? Tim: I'm not sure how many blocks there were. I know
that I was in Housing C, so I'm assuming they were
alphabetical and they probably went to D. So, that
means there were four blocks, starting with A. Bob: George Bailey is split into six Houses.
each House is split into 3 Modules
each module has its own dayroom and has four
dorms each housing about 40 inmates.
Peter: maybe about ten to twenty. Iris: I'm not sure I think 7 Pat: 6 blocks per floor each block is called a mod. Elsie: That's a complicated question to answer because it
would entail having access to the entire facility or
seeing a map which isn't the case. I know for
example that for serious offenders, there were
different layouts. Others had dorms and those who
were inmate workers, they had different options. Kathleen: 6 or 7 but im not completly sure George: There were about 10 I believe. Amber: I BELIVE THERE WERE 8 HOUSING SECTORS
JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they? Tim: The names that I could see were letters, at least
that's what I think they were. I'm pretty sure
that I was in C, so letters would represent the
names and they probably started with A. Bob: 1A is the thunderdome (lots of fights and riots)
unfortunately thats where most people go first.
1B has no brothers or others in it only
woods,southsiders and paisas.
1C is the inmate workers aka Trustees
2a is the cuckoos nest (psych tank)
2b is general population in cell living
2c is PC's aka protective custodee (snitches and
rats)
3a,b,c I dont remember but I believe general pop
4a,b,c general pop
5a is the Hole. 24 hour lockdown for high
profile murder cases, flight risks, super
violent,etc.
5b,c is High Power aka people looking at
significant prison time
6a,b,c is High Power and mostly the violent ones
Sexually Violent Predators aka SVP aka rapists
and molestors are housed in their own tiny unit
in the medical ward for their own safety.
The medical ward also has several small dorms
and isolation cells for sick inmates or those
with special medical needs. It used to also have
the transvestites but they got shipped downtown. Peter: i think they just had numbers or alphabets. thats
about it. Iris: They were catorgized in hundreds so block 100
block 200... Etc. Pat: upper west mods 1-6, lower west(unsure), north house
mods 1-6, east house(unsure) . each mod held 16
cells with 32 people per mod Elsie: They used letters to designate the areas or
northside or A House which meant Administration or
lockup. Kathleen: north house. f housing. b house c house. a few for
trustee. recieving area. infirmary? um.. im not
totally familiar with the entire layout George: I believe they were a number and a letter, at this
time I cannot remember where I was. Amber: YES. A HOUSING, B HOUSING, C HOUSING, D HOUSING,
E HOUSING, F STREET, NORTHSIDE AND MEDICAL
JM: Which types of inmates were housed in the different blocks? Tim: I have no idea how the separated inmates into
which cells. I'm assuming that since I was in Cell
Block C, that every person in there was there for
some misdemeanor or minor crime. They were all
docile, so I didn't notice any violent behavior. Bob: see above Peter: i think they had certain inmates based on what they
did and the type of uniforms they had on. thats all
i know about that.and i think they some type of
wrist band for certain blocks. Iris: It was based off if there crime and whether they
were violent or not band I think I'd they had any
health issues or mental issues as well determined
housing. Pat: upper west held the highest security level inmates.
north house held half high security level and half
lower security inmates. lower west is for low
security inmates. East house is for trustee (inmate
workers) and for sex offenders an gang drop outs
(protective custody) Elsie: Housed according to the nature of their crimes,
whether they were "trustees" or inmate workers,
which was a privilege, in medical quarantine, in
lock up or high profile. Certain inmates who were
high profile because of perhaps crimes against
children were often single-celled for their safety. Kathleen: north and f housing were general population. most
the people who were coming in and out were placed
here. a few who'd been sentenced remained here. b
and c house were higher supervision. there was
specific housing for escapees and the mentally
unstable. there was housing in medical and the
trustee housing was given more privileges George: The cell blocks were divided by level of
security.it was one through three. I was kept as a
very low security since I wasn't staying very long
and offense wasn't violent, I know there were
other cells were maximum security was obtained. Amber: A HOUSE-PROTECTIVE CUSTODY AND OR LOCKDOWN B
HOUSE- HIGH POWER THOUSE- PRISON BOUND D HOUSE-
TRUSTEE DORM, E HOUSE-PYSCHE F STREET-PEOPLE IN
SCHOOL/MINIMUM BEHAVIOR NORTHSIDE-SEWERS AND
MINIMUM BEHAVIOR MEDICAL-THOSE WITH MEDICAL
PROBLEMS
JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks? Tim: It seemed that the nicest part about the blocks,
was that they seemed to segregate the population.
Like I said that block where I was, was with all
kinds of people that had violated the law with
acts of alcohol. I'm sure that they put the more
violent transgressors in other blocks, which now
that I think about it, I am quite grateful. Bob: Nothing about jail is Nice
but I would definately say that cell living (ie.
housed in a module where you share a cell with
one guy) is much better than dorm living (being
housed in a dorm with 45+ other inmates together
in triple bunks) Peter: what i remember being the nicest is that it
seperates certain people.certain people here and
there is a good idea.
and the worst is theres too many people in all
blocks.its just too overcrowded. too many people
when there is meals. it also gets noisey as well.
thats about it. ya. Iris: The nicest part was learning a huge less not to
trust people that much cause even though you
intentions may be good you don't know what theirs
may be. The worst was having to deal with all
these women a lot of them were immature and
needed to get their life together Pat: worst part is the public showers and the same food
over and over. best part is having cell doors that
would be closed most of the day so the only one
you had to talk to most of the day was the one
person sharing your cell. this was in high control
in upper west. Also being able to buy store while
in jail was one of the best parts of my day while
in jail. Elsie: Some areas did not have access to the outside or
did only once or twice a week and that was
miserable. Those units tended to be very
aggressive in terms of both inmates and police.
The working dorms were clearly the best because
inmates were afforded privileges and more outdoor
time. Also, they were permitted longer visits and
better food at times. This was a bonus no doubt. Kathleen: there wasnt much worse about one area than
another. at least not that i was personally
fimilar with. it was cool we were allowed to go
outside for yard time thruout the day. able to use
the phones. allowed to communicate with fellow
inmates. there was tv time. cards/dice and board
games. books/magazines and a radio. and we're
allowed to recieve emails from back home which is
nice. George: There wasn't really anything nice about the cell
blocks but the worst would definately have to be
the bathrooms, they would only give you a few
minutes to shower, there was no privacy and were
not always as clean as they should be, I guess it
is as good as you would expect for jail. Amber: D WAS THE TRUSTEE DORM SO IT HAD ITS PERKS. YOU
COULD USE A HAIR DRYER OR STRAIGHTNER . YOU HAD
PRIVLEDGES TO THE SWIMMING POOL IN THE SUMMER,
SODA AND SNACK MACHINE, WORK OUT EQUIPMENT, AND
YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES MORE OFTEN. B
HOUSE WAS CELL LIVING AND BEING LOCKED INSIDE
ALL DAY