You might not want to stay there. At least at the end of the tour, they were so kind to let us out.
The new Wayne County Correctional Facility is a modern, state of the art facility, far surpassing the one Presently in use which dates to 1936. Now, 72 years later, county inmates will have a large, secure, efficient place where their needs will be taken care of during their stay at taxpayer’s expense but due to their own choices that put them in there.
While modern, the new prison is still a prison, “spartan by design,” Warden Craig Chalmers said during the media tour Thursday. The public will get a chance to see it Friday (today) 12 noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bare concrete floors, small cells sparsely furnished, narrow windows with milky, translucent glass, outdoor exercise “yards” again with concrete floors and high walls all around; and surveillance cameras watching your every move.  Unless you are on work release, much of your stay is spent within your cell block unit, where your meals are delivered and served on stainless steel tables with round, attached steel seats. If you need to go from one area to another, you go through foyers with steel barred doors in front and back; the first must close before the other opens.
Each of the nine cell block units have TVs on the wall- inmates must purchase headphones, and a phone. Telephone calls are tightly controlled and monitored.
Control centers monitor cell blocks and other areas, and remotely open and close doors.
There is also an indoor gym/multi-purpose room for each pod.
Lawyers will be able to meet with clients privately, which was not always convenient at the old prison. A video-conferencing room will allow inmates to participate in preliminary hearings, bail hearings and other appointments with the district magistrate or judge, without leaving the prison and requiring the security risk of transport.
Inmates will arrive through a sallly port, where they are allowed out of the vehicle behind locked doors. Once processed, they are kept in a maximum security cell up to 48 hours while their status is determined. Most will go to medium security units with two levels of cells looking out at the dining tables. Units that can be used for maximum security include cell doors with small slots to receive food. To exit the prisoner must have his or her hands cuffed, through the slot. The work release center- one for men, one for women, have several beds in one large cell. Work release prisoners have their own door to the outside world.
Visitors will be able to see a prisoner either face to face or through glass and communication by telephone- depending on the inmate’s status. Visitors will access these areas off the main lobby without entering the prison’s secure area.
A full time nurse is on duty 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dr. Philip Guithers is on call if needed.
Inmates will do all the cleaning, laundry and meal preparation- under supervision. Presently the Area Agency on Aging makes the meals and sends the food over; The Aging office will still prepare the menu.
Chalmers said that they increased their correctional officer staff from 19 to 27, and added several other positions. About 60 full or part-time persons will be on staff.
The new prison is built to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) standards and in fact in some ways resemble state prison and even federal prison settings. Chalmers said that one of the reasons they built a new facility was that for many years, the county prison has been well below those modern standards. Another issue was overcrowding and the great expense saddling the county in having to board prisoners in other counties- including women inmates- for nearly $400,000 a year.
The Warden said that it cost around $14- $18 a day to house a prisoner at the old facility, and around $9 a day at the new one. Just being able to house women and allowing larger food purchases brings down the cost.
Many years ago it was not unusual to have less than 10 inmates at Wayne County Prison, although built to accommodate 58. During April 2008, the prison population totaled 57, in addition to 18 at the separate work release center, and 18 others boarded elsewhere, for a total of 93.
The new prison can house as many as 186, if double occupancy is required. That includes work release and female prisoners, and Chalmers said if there is space, they can now take inmates from other counties.
Not fully furnished and with some work yet to do, the county hopes to be able to start using the new facility for work release inmates sometime in June 2008. It took five years to settle on the present 21 acre site in Indian Orchard, and construction started in the fall of 2006. Total cost was about $16.2 million, paid from bond issues and a $1 million state grant.

The new Wayne County Correctional Facility is built to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) standards and in fact in some ways resemble state prison and even federal prison settings. Chalmers said that one of the reasons they built a new facility was that for many years, the county prison has been well below those modern standards. Another issue was overcrowding and the great expense saddling the county in having to board prisoners in other counties- including women inmates- for nearly $400,000 a year.
 Warden Craig Chalmers said that it cost around $14- $18 a day to house a prisoner at the old facility, and around $9 a day at the new one. Just being able to house women and allowing larger food purchases brings down the cost.
Many years ago it was not unusual to have less than 10 inmates at Wayne County Prison, although built to accommodate 58. During April 2008, the prison population totaled 57, in addition to 18 at the separate work release center, and 18 others boarded elsewhere, for a total of 93.
The new prison can house as many as 186, if double occupancy is required. That includes work release and female prisoners, and Chalmers said if there is space, they can now take inmates from other counties.
Charles W. Grimm Constuction, Inc., was the general contractor. The facility covers 48,978 square feet.
Not fully furnished and with some work yet to do, the county hopes to be able to start using the new facility for work release inmates sometime in June 2008. It took five years to settle on the present 21 acre site in Indian Orchard, and construction started in the fall of 2006. Total cost was about $16.2 million, paid from bond issues and a $1 million state grant.