Post by Doc on Aug 19, 2009 17:25:59 GMT -5
Security upgrades on fast track
High-powered lighting in place at Branchville Correctional Facility; stun fence will be operational by fall
BRANCHVILLE - Seven new light towers and a 50-strand stun fence are the latest security enhancements at Branchville Correctional Facility. Officials at the low-medium-security prison discussed improvements and offered tours Thursday to local leaders and media.
The pair of projects carry a price tag of more than $1.1 million and were put on a fast track after the March escape of three offenders who assaulted a maintenance worker and cut through a fence. Two other men scaled a fence in 2008. All five escapees were eventually recaptured.
The new lights were installed this summer on 100-foot-tall towers, improving visibility at night and making it easier for staff to monitor grounds. Mature trees within the main prison perimeter have been removed to improve visibility and reduce shadows at night.
Under construction for more than a month has been the electrified stun fence, which when complete will encircle the facility's main perimeter. The system delivers a shock similar to a hand-held stun device. The jolt won't be lethal, but will knock offenders back. The fence has 50 separate strands of wire and is being placed on the inside of the first of two steel fences already in place.
"The stun fence will be the first barrier an offender trying to escape will encounter," Branchville Superintendent Gil Peters said Thursday. Construction of the fence, he said, should be completed by late September or October. The stun fence and new lights have generator backups, meaning they will remain online in the event of an electrical outage.
State Reps. Dennie Oxley and Russ Stilwell credited the fast work of improvements after the escape, especially in the face of limited state financial resources. Stilwell complimented Branchville officials and Department of Correction Commissioner Edwin Buss.
"You've all done a good job. The dollars were allocated down here. Everyone stepped up to the plate," Stilwell said.
Oxley pointed to the quick action that removed offenders with longer sentences. In the wake of the March escape, Department of Correction officials reduced the amount of time offenders placed at Branchville can serve from 15 years to eight years. Offenders serving longer sentences have less to lose by risking an escape. Those with more than eight years to serve were transported to other facilities in the state.
Other security steps already in place for some time include limits on the times offenders are cleared to move to and from their dormitories for meals, recreation and educational classes. Offenders cleared for outside work crews now wear yellow jumpsuits instead of the khaki ones worn in dormitories.
Until construction of the fence is complete, the number of offenders assigned to work crews will be limited. However, Peters pledged to work with community leaders to prioritize projects offender work crews will be able to tackle in the future, including maintenance of small, rural cemeteries.
High-powered lighting in place at Branchville Correctional Facility; stun fence will be operational by fall
BRANCHVILLE - Seven new light towers and a 50-strand stun fence are the latest security enhancements at Branchville Correctional Facility. Officials at the low-medium-security prison discussed improvements and offered tours Thursday to local leaders and media.
The pair of projects carry a price tag of more than $1.1 million and were put on a fast track after the March escape of three offenders who assaulted a maintenance worker and cut through a fence. Two other men scaled a fence in 2008. All five escapees were eventually recaptured.
The new lights were installed this summer on 100-foot-tall towers, improving visibility at night and making it easier for staff to monitor grounds. Mature trees within the main prison perimeter have been removed to improve visibility and reduce shadows at night.
Under construction for more than a month has been the electrified stun fence, which when complete will encircle the facility's main perimeter. The system delivers a shock similar to a hand-held stun device. The jolt won't be lethal, but will knock offenders back. The fence has 50 separate strands of wire and is being placed on the inside of the first of two steel fences already in place.
"The stun fence will be the first barrier an offender trying to escape will encounter," Branchville Superintendent Gil Peters said Thursday. Construction of the fence, he said, should be completed by late September or October. The stun fence and new lights have generator backups, meaning they will remain online in the event of an electrical outage.
State Reps. Dennie Oxley and Russ Stilwell credited the fast work of improvements after the escape, especially in the face of limited state financial resources. Stilwell complimented Branchville officials and Department of Correction Commissioner Edwin Buss.
"You've all done a good job. The dollars were allocated down here. Everyone stepped up to the plate," Stilwell said.
Oxley pointed to the quick action that removed offenders with longer sentences. In the wake of the March escape, Department of Correction officials reduced the amount of time offenders placed at Branchville can serve from 15 years to eight years. Offenders serving longer sentences have less to lose by risking an escape. Those with more than eight years to serve were transported to other facilities in the state.
Other security steps already in place for some time include limits on the times offenders are cleared to move to and from their dormitories for meals, recreation and educational classes. Offenders cleared for outside work crews now wear yellow jumpsuits instead of the khaki ones worn in dormitories.
Until construction of the fence is complete, the number of offenders assigned to work crews will be limited. However, Peters pledged to work with community leaders to prioritize projects offender work crews will be able to tackle in the future, including maintenance of small, rural cemeteries.