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Jail Layout

Interview with Charles, m ray, Leon, Jean, Accountant, Lil Will, Cam, big boi, Claire, Walt, Carl, Ed, Devin, Mitch and Ronaldo

JM: How many different blocks were there?
Charles: There are several large jails with many different housing layouts.
m ray: all the jails in dallas co are set up different
Leon: In Suzanne Kays Detention center there were between 40-50 separate 24 man cages or tanks.
Jean: In Lousterit, they have eleven floors. Each floor has a gender. The bottom five floors were men, 6, 7, 8 was women, 9 was the infirmary, and 10 and 11 were men. In each of those floors, they are a mixture of one big room with bunks or they are individual cells. It depends on what tower you go to. They have so many facilities there that they're trying to incorporate. Some of those floors will have nine girls to a cell. Not really a cell, but a big walk way with a TV and table, and each of those girls will have an individual room with a bed and toilet. Some floors are like that, and others are general population - a big loud mess. It's so loud you can hardly stand it.
Accountant: Not sure, it was very surreal to me.
Lil Will: Some are tanks some are cages some are single cells.
Cam: 13
big boi: more than 10
Claire: on my floor 8 blocks
Walt: Im not sure but in Kays tower there were 4-5 floors of 64 man cells the women were on the 4-5 which ever was the top floor. it was a very good jail run very well for as many inmates as they had. The only thing that I would improve is access to bondsman and/or lawyers in the 1st few days on incarceration.
Carl: There were probably at least 100 blocks
Ed: 20 blocks on each floor 10 floors
Devin: I'm not sure. Never counted.
Mitch: OMG! THOUSANDS! Texas prison system is a billion dollar a year INDUSTRY.
Ronaldo: I do not have a clue.

JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they?
Charles: Jail names are: Lew Sterrett North tower, west tower, South tower (coming soon). Decker Jail, George Allen Jail, Susan Kays Jail.
m ray: yes west tower,north tower, suan kayes aka new holland, decker which is a old hotel,or govt center and there in the process of buliding a south tower
Leon: No, they were numbered.
Jean: No, they were just numbered.
Accountant: Not Sure.
Lil Will: Old jail new hollands kays goverment center lew sterek
Cam: They are all called tanks and not blocks..You have you regular tanks and your aggravated tanks..Aggravated tanks were for inmates that have either been charged for an aggravated offense or are currently incarcerated for an aggravated offense.. Violent crimes with weapons, or an offense that placed a plaintiff and fear of serious bodily injury and or death are considered to be aggravated cases..Once you have been charged with an aggravated case you will always be sent to an aggravated tank even if you are there on a different offense..Example 8 years ago i was charged with an aggravated case and i was incarcerated on a credit card abuse case in 2005 and i was sent to the aggravated tank. The atmosphere is a violent one if you are not careful and are not familiar with how things are in that particular tank..when you first arrive it is very wise to find someone you feel comfortable with and ask them how the tank runs..In some tanks they have an assigned cleaning duty that goes by date and cell..This duty is made by a majority vote from all inmates in the tanks..If you fail to follow it, it could cause a big fight with not just one inmate but from all of them..
big boi: tanks
Claire: while in north tower I was in 3 tank and it goes in a semi circle to 10
Walt: Yes the tanks were designated by letters for instance the medical was 2E and I was moved to 3F and then 3D transfer at my request because they had AA meetings in that tank.
Carl: I believe they were labeled as BLOCK A, B, C, like that.
Ed: like 7 west 6 for example or 8 east 4
Devin: North, West, and Kays towers. Then they were lettered and numbered.
Mitch: Of course cell blocks were named. NE9; North Tower East cell 9, for felons and alleged felons. SEL/9; South East lock-up cell 9 etc.
Ronaldo: Again, I do not know if they had other blocks thus I don't know if they had names.

JM: Which types of inmates were housed in the different blocks?
Charles: Inmates are classed several ways. In general, you will be housed together if you have trustee status, crimes against children, aggravated crimes.
m ray: depending on what type of crime u commit or ur past record wheater ur violent or not sh* like that
Leon: The officers put problem people in the same tanks. The trustees were housed together also.
Jean: It was just by wherever there was an open bed. For the guys, though, like for sex offenders and gay guys, they try to separate the guys. They don't do the girls like that, though.

I got along with everybody, but that's because, like I said, I've been through the system once or twice, and I don't take shit from nobody. I ain't scared to fight no black person. They didn't really mess with me, but I saw them mess with a lot of people. Really and truly, when you get to jail, like for the girl that goes to jail with a DWI, she'll be scared to freaking death.
Accountant: Not Sure.
Lil Will: They put punks together, aggravated inmates together, and trustees and just general population.
Cam: All murder cases (inmates) that are not high profile cases were in the same tanks as people that are either currently charged with violent crimes or have been charged with a violent crime in the past.. Example..Most aggravated robbery, murder, aggravated assault and serious violent crimes (inmates) are in the same tank..Misdemeanor cases (inmates) are in other tanks..Then you have your inmates that are eligible for trustee status do to the lesser criminal charge..
big boi: the gay guys
Claire: I was on the tank with mixed charges from drugs to murder,however they aggravated tanks and nonviolent tanks,education, computer tanks.only when there is a violent situation would they relocate someone
Walt: They were categorized in some fashion supposedly by crimes committed and by sexual orientation, but I saw short timers mixed with hard timers so some of it was just left up to which tank had room.
Carl: There were blocks or cells for more violent crime inmates and there were cells for less crime inamates like inmates that had misdeamors were in a cell and felony inmates were in others.
Ed: all sorts they really don't put inmates of the same charge together ie murder and sex offenders and people like forgery are all in the same place it is kinda dangerous
Devin: The aggravated and violent inmates were housed in the north Tower. Those that were suicidal or mentally unstable were housed in the west Tower until they could be cleared to move somewhere else. And the general population was housed in Kaystower .
Mitch: Felons were housed in North Tower where military type officers called SRT's were bullies and instegators. West tower housed the lesser crimes like petty theft, weed charges, etc. But honestly, one small mistake could land you in Maximum North Tower with ME! the BIG BAD attempted murderer. It was all irrelevant.
Ronaldo: As far as I know, the most violent inmates were housed in the North Tower. South Tower was the most laid back ones and West Tower was a mixture including mental ones.

JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks?
Charles: Single cell tanks are nice because of the obvious reasons. The main towers have the most perks, best maintenance, etc. Decker is dirty and run down, but its minimum security, has large windows too look out, lights you can turn off and you can walk the whole wing you are housed in (no cell doors). george allen jail is the old county jail. Its very out of date, very dirty and run down. Lights never go out and its very loud. George Allen is the older bar type pods.
m ray: there really isnt any nice part about it except u can get away with pretty much anything its the nastesty place every staff infection runs rapid through that b*
Leon: I was in the trustee tank most of my time. The trustee tanks were pretty laid back as everyone there worked together. It was also very noisy there all hours of the day and night. It was very hot also. In the regular tanks a lot of inmates stayed up all night then slept all day.
Jean: Well, most people are scared to death so they won't really consider anything nice at all. What you do is you finally get in a place so you can get a shower, get in your bunk, and take a nap. It normally takes 48-72 hours to get out of that holding area, so you're exhausted. You gotta go strip down and get searched, and do all that shit, and then carry your own mattress and bed clothing, and you do all of your own work. The mattresses are terrible.
Accountant: The entire jail was filthy, there were no good/bad blocks...
Lil Will: Single cells are ok, some tanks are good if you get a good cellie but you cant ever tell.
Cam: There was never anything nice about the jail..The worst was the fact that many of the Jailers that are assigned to work that floor did not care about your concerns..Many of them would tell other inmates about other inmates personal mail and visitors and in some cases even instigate a fight between two inmates by revealing some very personal and private information regarding other inmate..
Claire: 2 man cells are a lit more peaceful because you can close the door by placing a door stopper to keep it from racking to have a privacy-worst,it can get loud in the evening,with the inmates hype from sleeping all day,ready to stay up all night laughing and talking drinking coffee
Walt: They were all very adequate but I heard the other towers in Lew Sterrit weren't as good as Kays Tower. Bets thing was 2 new widescreen tvs on on Spanish and one on English. Also had a microwave and ice machine in each tank. Each tank had its own POD Officer changed 3 times a day. The meals were ok for jail usually that is not the case.
Carl: There were no nicer parts all the different blocks were completely filthy and could tell their was spit and urine everywhere which made it very uncomfortable and very easy to get sick from the filth. I never seen the guards clean the cells or blocks one time the whole time I was there.
Ed: well all the blocks are the same it is the people in them that you have to worry about you can have a good group of guys or you can have bunch of idiots you never get a choice you just have to wish for the best and just get along
Devin: The North Tower was the worst of all of them. It was dirty and uncomfortable. The inmates there seemed as if they had nothing to lose and it made doing time difficult. The west Tower was really lonely because it was basically solitary confinement. Sitting in those cells easily drives you nuts.
Mitch: West Tower was nicest because the criminals were less criminals and you a better chance of getting a single cell. North Tower was the worst because it housed the REAL Criminals and it was hard navigating through the maze of fights, theft, sex, drugs, politics, CO's, SRT's, and whatever else I could not think of.
Ronaldo: Nicest part I heard about was the flat screens and the ice machines. Instant hot water and recreational areas are up to date. Worst part was how much remodeling the older parts need. The whole time I was there I was not offered recreational time what so ever. That was a bummer.

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