NCJ Number
145223
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 55 Issue: 6 Dated: (October 1993) Pages: 96-102
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs), completed by inmates, staff, and management, can provide valuable information on broad issues related to jail facility design and policy.
Abstract
While ideally, POEs should be a regular part of the design and construction process in every jail, in reality, few correctional facilities complete POEs annually. POEs, particularly those conducted at the two Federal Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MCCs) in Chicago and New York, have influenced design improvements across several generations of facilities and have added to the knowledge base on correctional environments and their impact on behavior. The first local jail to model itself after the MCCs was the Main Detention Facility in Contra Costra County, California, which used the POEs to repeat successes and avoid failures experienced by the larger facilities. The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is supporting development of a POE process that is being tested at two sites. The approach that will be used to gather data quickly and efficiently will follow these 10 steps: establish initial contact, identify a liaison, complete an administration survey, complete staff and inmate surveys, analyze survey data, hold a team conference, modify on-site data collection forms, conduct on-site observation and interviews, analyze data and write a report, and prepare a final report. 7 references