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Voters won’t pay to upgrade substandard jail

HOUGHTON – The Houghton County Jail does not comply with current Michigan Department of Correction standards and poses serious liabilities for the county, according to a 2010 study by the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP).

The jail opened in 1963 with a capacity of 28 beds and houses the Sheriff’s Department law enforcement staff and offices, storage and physician facilities on the lower floor.

In 1989, the county renovated a building at the Houghton County Memorial Airport to create a work release center with 26 beds, giving a total of 54 beds between the two facilities, according to the report.

The U.P. Regional Jail and Facility Re-Use Study stated both the main jail and the the work release center, located at the Houghton County Memorial Airport, were deficient in several areas, including overcrowding.

The report also revealed that in spite of the work release center, the number of housing units available for classifying and separating inmates is insufficient. Nearly half of the jail’s capacity (12 of 28 beds) is provided in two six-person dormitories. These large cells further limit the ability of jail personnel to classify and separate inmates.

None of the housing units in the Houghton County Jail are provided with a “dayroom” that is immediately adjacent to the cells. Dayrooms are required by national jail standards. The jail has no area that is suitable for inmate activities, services or programs. There is a small outdoor exercise yard.

The study also revealed the work camp is “a makeshift situation (and) is not even staffed during the day shift.” The low security beds at the work camp provide no effective separation of inmates. The work camp was created as a means of relieving overcrowding at the main jail and “has served the county well, but it has also outlived its usefulness,” the report states.

The Michigan Department of Corrections inspections have found deficiencies in evacuation plans and drills, safety and maintenance of equipment and structures, both at the work camp and the main jail. In addition, deficiencies were also found in dietary allowances and fire safety at the main jail.

The deficiencies were caused by combinations of physical plant characteristics, maintenance, and operations, the report stated, but it did not include lack of funding among the causes.

A comprehensive and detailed review of facilities and operations was provided in the “Local System Assessment” report provided by the National Institute of Corrections in 1998, the UPCAP report stated. The consultants recommended that Houghton County begin the process of planning a new jail, but offered no suggestions as to locating necessary funding.

NEXT: Upcoming stories will examine the condition of the Houghton County Jail facilities in more depth and detail.

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