KCRag Forum

Mike Sanders and Sam Graves say that our beautiful DT jail (&&&) is overcrowded and that it is time to build a new one.  They are proposing that the city, county, and various surounding municipalities band together to build one supersized regional jail. 

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/80951.html

I guess if we can't get a One KC baseball stadium or transit solution, maybe we can get a One KC Clink!  Here's to hoping that this thing gets built out in Blue Springs this time, instead of DT. 

Something just hit me....why not build a jail in the caves?  Seems like a natural fit for a jail....

it would be super cheap too. IMO great idea

How about the caves near 291? Or 435?

It has to be close to the courthouse so it is going into the newly converted building just east of the Sprint Center.

They said that was too small in the article.

Just out of curiosity, is there any other city that puts people in jail for a civil case? Here in Topeka we have a thing that can be coined a debtors prison. If collections can not shake moneys out of a person for unpaid bills the debt turns to a court case and if you do not show up for the court date, usualy on a Tuesday morning at 8:00, they can throw you in jail. Yea I know , you should keep up with your bills, but people on a fixed income sometimes have to defer their payments just to keep the utilities on.

If you are not paying a court ordered debt (like child support) then yes you can.  But if I borrowed $50,000 from you and refused to pay it back then no.

A 35 story prison!

aknowledgeableperson wrote: If you are not paying a court ordered debt (like child support) then yes you can.  But if I borrowed $50,000 from you and refused to pay it back then no.

That is exactly what I mean.

GRID wrote: A 35 story prison!

With ground floor retail.

2 birds with one stone.

kcmetro wrote:
With ground floor retail.

2 birds with one stone.

that cracked me up!

kcmetro wrote: With ground floor retail.

That would be nice. it would give the prison system an outlet to sell the goods made in prisons now that the License plates are being made by a private industry.

I propose two retail shops to fill the first floor: 

Prison Tattoo Shop
"Where our third teardrop tat is always free"

Real Homemade Shanks
"Why stick the punk with a poor imitation?"

What else would sell? 

well, here's the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago....

KCPowercat wrote: Something just hit me....why not build a jail in the caves?  Seems like a natural fit for a jail....

That's one of the smartest cost saving ideas I've heard in quite some time.  There are so many places where caves can be found around here too.  Heating and cooling is a major operational cost in prisons and jails and caves maintain a constant and comfortable temperature on their own.

The added security provided by mother nature would be another added bonus.  It would take less guards to run it than your standard jail since there would only be a couple of possible avenues for an escape.  I think there's a federal prison in Colorado that's built into the side of a mountain.  They could probably use that as somewhat of a model to design the jail.

I'd look at a place that's away from housing and businesses so inmates aren't being released into a place where their next victim/target isn't waiting right outside the front gate.  Up in the river bluffs somewhere along 210 or out that direction that probably won't be developed would be ideal.

That does sound like a good idea. But to put the prisoners underground has its drawbacks. Number 1 is that a cave like subtroplis is constantly being expanded. With the explosions almost nightly to expand this cave would give the inmates a good case of shell shock. Number 2. is that it would seam as inhumane as locking a kid in a closet. The human body needs to have some exposure to natural light or there will be a higher level of depression.

The answer to rehabbing a convict is through very intense psychiatric intervention. As far as I know there is not any current facility geared to deliver the services needed to accomplish this. The current facilities are crises intervention only or are scaled back far enough that the level of care is not there.

Sanders is already talking about putting in Eastern Jackson County.  With a capacity of 3000-40000 it would be 4-5 times larger than the current jail downtown.  A greenfield site away from populated areas makes sense for  medium security jail.

anniewarbucks wrote: Just out of curiosity, is there any other city that puts people in jail for a civil case? Here in Topeka we have a thing that can be coined a debtors prison. If collections can not shake moneys out of a person for unpaid bills the debt turns to a court case and if you do not show up for the court date, usualy on a Tuesday morning at 8:00, they can throw you in jail. Yea I know , you should keep up with your bills, but people on a fixed income sometimes have to defer their payments just to keep the utilities on.

Thats a misrepresentation - you aren't going to jail for your debt, you are going to jail for defying a court order.  You can go to jail for skipping out on a required appearance for anything.  Big difference. 

anniewarbucks wrote: That does sound like a good idea. But to put the prisoners underground has its drawbacks. Number 1 is that a cave like subtroplis is constantly being expanded. With the explosions almost nightly to expand this cave would give the inmates a good case of shell shock. Number 2. is that it would seam as inhumane as locking a kid in a closet. The human body needs to have some exposure to natural light or there will be a higher level of depression.

People work in the caves every day....I'm sure the prisoners could be subject to office worker conditions???