Over the course of two weeks, the Criminal Justice class of Heartland went to tour the Wabash County Jail and the Miami County Jail. As we toured and compared both of the jails, there were various major differences between them. A few of these major differences are how many inmates each jail can hold, the dorms, and the way visitors get to visit inmates. Starting off, the Wabash County Jail was built in 1979, as for the Miami County Jail, which was built in 2009. The Miami County Jail is more advanced and bigger, which means they can hold more inmates. The Wabash County Jail can approximately hold up to 72 inmates, but they are over capacitated with 86 inmates. The Miami County Jail can hold up to approximately 240 inmates. If the Wabash Jail needs inmates transferred, they will get moved to the Miami County Jail. As of the day we were at the Miami Jail, they had 36 inmates that had come from Wabash. …show more content…
Wabash County Jail is also known as a typical first-generation jail. The inmates live together in the cells, dormitories, or tanks. The cells line in corridors. The officers observe the inmates in the dormitories by periodically walking through the dormitories or along a perimeter catwalk; this separates them from the inmates by bars. The Miami County Jail is a typical second-generation jail. The correctional officers are constantly supervising the inmates from secure control booths that overlook the inmate living area. The inmate rooms have reinforced metal doors with unbreakable windows instead of