First of all, I just wanted to say sorry for being MIA lately. We’ve been busy finishing up our school year and the weather has been super nice, so I haven’t been indoors blogging. I am going to catch up, so don’t be mad when I bombard you with blog posts for a couple of days. 🙂
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A few weeks ago we celebrate “National Law Enforcement Week” by visiting our local Sheriff’s Department and jail.
We started our tour just as an inmate would. We entered through the garage that the police car pulls into, after making an arrest. This is a garage made of concrete blocks and reinforced doors, so that the inmate cannot run or try to escape.
Of course, they would be in handcuffs already, but apparently some inmates are not the brightest. 🙂
Our jail is a “high security” jail so there are no guns allowed inside. The officers drop their guns in a metal box in the garage, before entering the actual “jail.”
We stepped through a set of huge doors (they weighed 450 pounds!) and into the “Booking Area.”
After passing through the metal detectors, an inmate is given a box to put all of their belongings (including clothes) and are required to take a shower. Then they are sat on a metal bench, while the employees complete the paperwork.
Next up is fingerprinting, mugshots and issuing the “oranges.”
Each inmate gets a small mesh bag with a towel, set of sheets, a white T-shirt and an orange jumpsuit with the words “Newton County Inmate” printed on the back.
We walked down a hallway and saw the “restraint chair” which is used when the inmate becomes unruly. I was shocked to learn that the inmate will remain in the chair for 2 hours, after he/she calms down! I suppose this is their way of showing the inmate that being uncooperative will not be good for you, while in jail.
We walked through the “visiting station,” where the kids saw that inmates get no physical contact with the outside world. They couldn’t imagine the inmates can’t get a hug when they need it the most.
After that, we climbed up to the control tower. The control tower is a tower that looks down into each “pod.” There is a person who sits and watches each pod through the security cameras.
The kids were surprised to see the ladies in jail, braiding each other’s hair. Another had a man hand washing his white t-shirts to prepare for laundry day. Most of the pods were still, with everyone back in bed, after breakfast. (We visited around 10, so I was surprised to see that they got to sleep the day away, if they wished.)
{We took homemade cookies and cards to show our appreciation}
Next, we checked out the officers’ equipment, including helmets, tazers and shields. The kids thought these were super awesome.
We walked through the offices , then we headed out to check out the “cop cars.” The kids got to explore the SUV and asked any questions they had.
I only took photos of the car because I didn’t feel like I should be snapping away inside the jail. 😉
We had a great time and will probably go back again.
A few weeks late, but we still want to thank all of our law enforcement, who put their lives on the line for our safety every day.
