Prisons And Prisoners

Reaction to Visiting a Detention Center and A Comparison to a Treatment Program"

Today, a large portion of men, women, and children are incarcerated in jails and prisons all over the United States. More commonly, they have been subjected to outrageous sentences due to new harsher drug trafficking laws. With the new Mandatory sentencing laws, it has become clear that the population in these prisons will continue to grow. In reference to these laws, The Essex County Jail, The Juvenile Detention Center, and Delaney Hall in Newark New Jersey have encountered this problem and will continue to be a factor to these institutions of corrections.

Essex County jail in Newark New Jersey is a twelve-story building. This particular facility only houses men that are pending trail, sentencing from the magistrate, or relocation to another prison facility. In other words, it is a short stay! Less than three hundred and sixty five days. The range of legal violations that are at Essex County are vast ranging anywhere from as low as driving tickets, to as serious offenses as murder and rape.

The men are kept in very small cells with a bed and a toilet. They are giving great medical attention and are required to have a full health screening before moved into their temporary cells. The inmates are given food and an hour of exercise daily. Some of the inmates are even allowed to work within the facility. The institution itself is old and in need of many repairs. There is no real ventilation system and a lack of air conditioning is lacking. Hygiene is also a problem. Many inmates burn toilet paper and newspaper as a way to mask odors in their cells or in the hallways. Just when one visit these places the inmates are subjected to the "zoo-like" feeling of having people view them as if they were zoo animals! Also illegal but something that is still done.

The Juvenile Detention Center is a state of the art facility that houses three hundred children ranging in ages from six to twenty four, currently. Usually there is one overseer or corrections office to a group of nineteen to twenty four inmates. Their crimes are as vast as the prisoners in the Essex county jail except, they have already been proven guilty in a court of law.

The disturbing difference between the Essex county Jail and the Detention Center for Juveniles is concerning when it comes to the health issues. As told by the staff, clothing, more so underwear is shared by the community. They inmates both females and males have stained underwear with feces, urine, and/or menstrual period. Some of these juveniles have STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and have spread them to other juveniles via under garments.