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Interview with Lisa, Bill, Ron, Cindi and Holly

JM: How many different blocks were there?
Lisa: Gosh, I can't remember exactly how many there were. There were men's and women's. Maybe 12? I'm guessing though. The jail can only house so many which is why inmates get matrixed out on Fridays.
Bill: Many, it was a large jail
Ron: I only saw two floors, but I know of at least ten. General, violent, female, trustees and sex crimes. With a dorm for people looking for their GED, and 2 intakes.
Cindi: I am not sure but there are a few..
Holly: For the women there are only two blocks.

JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they?
Lisa: Cell blocks were referred to by their letter if I remember correctly (cell block E, for example)
Bill: Dont know
Ron: Yes, letters, T-Tom Block (Terminator, or Terror to the inmates) my personal block, E-Echo Block, O was Ocean block. That's all the ones I heard the guards name.
Cindi: I was Z block, I know there are at least A block, H block and E block
Holly: The main housing for the women is the C Block and the other block is the "hole"

JM: Which types of inmates were housed in the different blocks?
Lisa: I have no idea. I was in with women that had possession charges, DUI's, harassment, etc.
Bill: There were dorm room blocks which had about 20 bunk beds lined up across from each other in a room that was about 60x30. Those were generally for short-timers. The 2nd floor housed the longer-time inmates and was the general population. Then there were inmates in striped uniforms working around the jail, I think they had done more serious offenses but I'm not sure.
Ron: Violent people wore the black and white stripes. Trustees wore Orange and White...General was the blues. I couldn't find the co-ed one though...
Cindi: They are divided by security, and obviously by male and female. However if there is overflow then some of those lines get blurred I'm sure. I was in min security in a dorm.
Holly: The general population women were in the C Block and the ones that were in the hole were there for disciplinary reasons or because they were a threat to other inmates or themselves.

JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks?
Lisa: It was by far the most boring place I have ever been in my life. Even though the officers were polite, they all have attitude about their position. Maybe their training makes them wary that someone will go off. I haven't really figured out why a person that wears a gun is so different from one that doesn't. I wonder what the officers would be like if they weren't armed. It is kind of an excuse to do the "power over" thing like in domestic violence. I was a criminal just like anyone else and no one gave a damn. The worst person I encountered in the whole process was a woman at Community Corrections. She was an awful intake person.
Ron: Well, you pretty much slept where you pooped, and played in your hallway. All the jail provided were about 50 books, maybe more...13 cells per block in a linear fashion. About 12 feet across from the cell doors was the wall, so 12x60. 3 four person tables, 1 two person...No tv, nothing else at all. But you were out of your cell 12 hours a day...Socialness was the easiest way to pass time for sure.
Cindi: I was only in the holding tank and then the dorms. But I heard people saying it was nice to be in E block because you had a cell door you could close when you felt like you needed time to yourself. And the lockdown I am told sucked because you only get 1 hour a day out of your cell.
Holly: The C Block is much nicer than the original cell holding blocks you sit in when you first get there. C Block has an upstairs and downstairs and upstairs it is setup like a dorm with bunk beds and is open. I was held downstairs in C Block and had a double cell, which I preferred over being upstairs as it got very loud up there and people were accused of stealing each others belongings. In my cell no other inmate besides my cellmate were allowed to go in it.

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