doughsgurl
10-20-2004, 01:29 AM
Prison security gets an overhaul
06:27 PM MDT on Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Ysabel Bilbao
Idaho's NewsChannel 7
BOISE -- Some of Idaho’s most dangerous criminals are under lock and key. However, the locks are not as secure as they should be.
NewsChannel 7 toured the prison south of Boise Monday and learned what's being done to fix the security problem.
Nearly 550 of the states most violent criminals live at the Maximum Security Prison.
Convicted murders, rapists and death row inmates are supposed to be tucked away in the most secure building in the state. But that has not been the case.
"The old system actually started to malfunction within 90 days of opening the facility," said Capt. Jeff Henry.
For the past 15 years, a simple power outage in downtown Boise or an electrical short at the prison facility could trigger technical malfunctions that caused doors to open and let inmates walk out of their cells.
"I think that it was very fortunate that we didn't have a staff member assaulted or injured because of the locking system failures," said warden Greg Fisher.
Closing the doors after the electrical malfunction has to be done manually. Fisher says it's a dangerous maneuver that takes a lot of manpower and time.
For the next couple of weeks B block will be completely without electricity causing officers to manually crank the doors to let inmates in and out of their cells.
That will all change soon after a new state-of-the-art security system is installed.
Correction officer Gretchen Woodland says the new system is a big improvement.
"It's really simple, it's not complicated at all,” Woodland said. She says it's a safer way to keep locked doors under control.
Security cameras line the prison hallways and in case there a failure with the new technology, back-up systems immediately go into effect.
"This is a really good system and it's long overdue," Henry said.
Some of the most secure prisons in the nation use this security system.
Once installation is finished in Boise, the same system will be installed at the Orofino prison.
Despite the faultiness of the locks, no one has ever escaped from the Maximum Security Prison.
Article found here: http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-oct1904-prison_locks.5b2d543.html (http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-oct1904-prison_locks.5b2d543.html)
06:27 PM MDT on Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Ysabel Bilbao
Idaho's NewsChannel 7
BOISE -- Some of Idaho’s most dangerous criminals are under lock and key. However, the locks are not as secure as they should be.
NewsChannel 7 toured the prison south of Boise Monday and learned what's being done to fix the security problem.
Nearly 550 of the states most violent criminals live at the Maximum Security Prison.
Convicted murders, rapists and death row inmates are supposed to be tucked away in the most secure building in the state. But that has not been the case.
"The old system actually started to malfunction within 90 days of opening the facility," said Capt. Jeff Henry.
For the past 15 years, a simple power outage in downtown Boise or an electrical short at the prison facility could trigger technical malfunctions that caused doors to open and let inmates walk out of their cells.
"I think that it was very fortunate that we didn't have a staff member assaulted or injured because of the locking system failures," said warden Greg Fisher.
Closing the doors after the electrical malfunction has to be done manually. Fisher says it's a dangerous maneuver that takes a lot of manpower and time.
For the next couple of weeks B block will be completely without electricity causing officers to manually crank the doors to let inmates in and out of their cells.
That will all change soon after a new state-of-the-art security system is installed.
Correction officer Gretchen Woodland says the new system is a big improvement.
"It's really simple, it's not complicated at all,” Woodland said. She says it's a safer way to keep locked doors under control.
Security cameras line the prison hallways and in case there a failure with the new technology, back-up systems immediately go into effect.
"This is a really good system and it's long overdue," Henry said.
Some of the most secure prisons in the nation use this security system.
Once installation is finished in Boise, the same system will be installed at the Orofino prison.
Despite the faultiness of the locks, no one has ever escaped from the Maximum Security Prison.
Article found here: http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-oct1904-prison_locks.5b2d543.html (http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-oct1904-prison_locks.5b2d543.html)