There is no typical jail.

Many jails are part of multipurpose buildings that also serve

as the county courthouse, the sheriff's office, or the police station. Others are larger
and self-contained. Although it is often charged that most jails are antiquated, the
majority of jails were opened between the 1950s and 1980s. Although most jails are
small, rural or suburban facilities, almost half of all jailed prisoners are in large
urban institutions, which tend to be chronically overcrowded. Many jails utilize
double occupancy, perching two or more inmates into cells designed for one. Large
numbers of inmates are also housed in dormitories. Many of these arrangements
are a far cry from meeting the standards promulgated by the Commission on
Accreditation in Corrections. These standards require single celling for maximum
security inmates. They also provide that all cells or sleeping areas in which inmates
are confined contain thirty-five-square feet of unencumbered space.
"Unencumbered" space is defined as usable space not occupied by furnishings or
fixtures. When confinement exceeds ten hours per day, a situation found in most
jails, the standards call for at least eighty square feet of total unencumbered floor
space per occupant (American Correctional Association, 1991).

Architecturally, three generations of jails are discernible since their inception. The
first-generation jail design dates back to the eighteenth century. It divided the jail
space into inflexible cells and/or cage-like dayrooms. Rows of cells were composed
of self-contained cell blocks facing large cages, or "bullpens." Inmates spent their
days and nights like caged animals and had little contact with their keepers.
Boredom and idleness prevailed, occasionally punctuated by outbursts of violence.
Food was passed into the bullpens or cells through slotted doors. While most such
jails have been replaced by newer facilities, a few remain along the eastern
seaboard and in the northeastern quadrant of the United States. They are
characterized by limited access to any sanitary facilities (including toilets) for long
periods of time. Access to showers and washrooms is equally limited. Inadequacies
such as these, when combined with short supplies of clean bedding, toilet paper,
soap and towels, pose serious health and morale problems and clearly contribute to
the high rates of infectious diseases found in many jail populations.

The second generation of jails has a linear construction, with multiple-occupancy

cells and dormitories aligned along corridors. The latter may be arranged at acute
angles creating a spoke-like effect. As was the case with its historic predecessor, the
newer version was designed to operate with a minimum of staff. Many such jails
utilize closed-circuit television (CCTV) and/or audio surveillance to augment staff
supervision and control of the inmates. Again, their design provides little contact
between inmates and staff. Supervision is effected by intermittent staff patrols of
the jail corridors and technology. About one thousand county and major city jails
were built during the 1970s and 1980s, amounting to roughly 30 percent of the
nation's jails at that time (National Institute of Corrections, 1985). Despite claims to
the contrary, these facilities suffered from the same deficiencies that had plagued
their predecessors, including space and program shortages, crowding, inadequate

physical separation between different types of inmates, and a myriad of

maintenance problems.

While most counties and municipalities doggedly continued to pursue archaic jail
designs when building new jails, a third-generation jail began to emerge during the
early 1970s. Under the leadership of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Law
Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) of the U.S. Department of Justice,
several leading architectural firms were commissioned to develop designs for a new
generation of prisons and jails. Simultaneously, LEAA funded the development of
National Guidelines for the Planning and Design of Regional and Community
Correctional Centers for Adults (1971) at the University of Illinois. The guidelines
were a direct response to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968,
which focused national attention on corrections under the Part E Amendment of
1971. The guidelines led to the creation of the National Clearinghouse for Criminal
Justice Planning and Architecture at the University of Illinois. LEAA through the
clearinghouse provided federal support for programs and facilities that were
consistent with advanced practices. Interdisciplinary in nature, the guidelines took
an open-system approach. This paradigm focuses on the interrelationship between
corrections, police, and courts, and envisions interdependent and interrelated
agencies and programs that provide a coordinated and consistent response to the
nation's crime problems. The guidelines, coupled with federal subsidies and
thousands of technical assistance and demonstration projects, became a major
turning point in the nation's quest to improve its corrections systems.

What differentiates third-generation jails (and prisons) from its predecessors is that
the new designs were driven by the philosophical mandate that humane treatment
of the accused and convicted offender must be at the very heart of the correctional
enterprise. Concomitant was the idea that programming considerations should
determine the physical design of jails and prisons, and that both should be applied
to improve the institutional quality of life, enhance facility safety, and effect
humane inmate control. The federal Metropolitan Correctional Centers in Los
Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and San Juan are thirdgeneration jails, having been constructed between 1974 and 1993. Today, a growing
number of such facilities exist in many county and municipal jurisdictions. The
differences between the old and new jail designs could not be more pronounced.
Many jails are part of multifunction public buildings, sharing space with the courts
and related public and social services. Jail intake is often based on an "open
booking" concept, with staff seated behind a counter. Inmate housing is based on a
pod or module concept. This means that housing is broken into groups ranging from
eight to forty-six inmates. Each module is staffed around the clock by specially
trained corrections officers. Modules are self-contained, combining the housing of
inmates with visiting, programming, recreation, and related activities. The podular
design reduces the need for inmate movement, enhances security, and increases
contact between inmates and correctional staff. Interior and exterior finishes and

furnishings provide a "normalized" environment in most housing areas except those

used for discipline and segregation. Most direct supervision jails have carpeting,
wood, upholstered furnishings, splashes of color, and considerable natural light.
Housing units are also equipped with counters, sinks, drink dispensers, and
telephones accessible to inmates in the dayrooms. Many pods have their own
exercise machines. Cells have one or two bunks, a desk and seat, running water,
intercoms, and sizable windows. Ongoing assessments of the effectiveness of thirdgeneration jails indicate that they have, for the most part, succeeded in providing a
safer and more humane environment for staff and inmates alike (Farbstein et al.).
Not surprisingly, research has tied the success of the new facility designs to
dedicated managerial leadership, improved human relations skills of correctional
staff, and extensive training of all involved (Zupan and Menke).

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