Post by Star on Dec 19, 2009 17:11:36 GMT -5
Male inmates make move into former Women's Prison
Near-Eastside residents remained wary as 368 male convicts moved Wednesday to a new home at the former Indiana Women's Prison.
The transfer of inmates nearing the end of their sentences comes after the Indiana Department of Correction made concessions to neighbors. The move is part of a DOC plan to increase space and save money at facilities statewide.
"What would be an ideal situation is if there wasn't a prison in a neighborhood environment," said Zach Adamson, vice president of the Near East Side Community Organization. "The jury is still out on whether the changes made will have a negative impact on the community."
In July, neighbors' protests forced prison officials to scrap a plan to turn the facility at 401 N. Randolph St. into a men's work-release center.
Residents worried that a work-release program -- which allows men to come and go from the facility for jobs and job interviews -- would bring more problems to an already high-crime area.
Prison officials made key concessions before neighbors grudgingly acquiesced, Adamson said.
Department spokesman Doug Garrison said the concessions include the possibility of less obtrusive fencing and assurances that no sexual predators would be housed at the facility.
"The Women's Prison has been in there since before the turn of the century and has always been a good neighbor," Garrison said. "We plan on keeping it that way."
"We've never had any trouble with the Women's Prison," Adamson said. "Most of us are fine with the changes as long as they adhere to what they've promised."
The compound has a new name: the Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility. Formerly a maximum-security prison housing about 450 women, it's now a minimum-security transition center that helps soon-to-be ex-convicts reintegrate into their communities.
The male inmates came from a center in Plainfield that soon will house inmates sentenced to less than a year in prison.
The re-entry facility will offer programs, including education, training and job skills, that are designed to reduce recidivism, officials said.
The female inmates were moved to the former Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility on the Far Westside in November. The juveniles were sent to a facility in Madison.
Near-Eastside residents remained wary as 368 male convicts moved Wednesday to a new home at the former Indiana Women's Prison.
The transfer of inmates nearing the end of their sentences comes after the Indiana Department of Correction made concessions to neighbors. The move is part of a DOC plan to increase space and save money at facilities statewide.
"What would be an ideal situation is if there wasn't a prison in a neighborhood environment," said Zach Adamson, vice president of the Near East Side Community Organization. "The jury is still out on whether the changes made will have a negative impact on the community."
In July, neighbors' protests forced prison officials to scrap a plan to turn the facility at 401 N. Randolph St. into a men's work-release center.
Residents worried that a work-release program -- which allows men to come and go from the facility for jobs and job interviews -- would bring more problems to an already high-crime area.
Prison officials made key concessions before neighbors grudgingly acquiesced, Adamson said.
Department spokesman Doug Garrison said the concessions include the possibility of less obtrusive fencing and assurances that no sexual predators would be housed at the facility.
"The Women's Prison has been in there since before the turn of the century and has always been a good neighbor," Garrison said. "We plan on keeping it that way."
"We've never had any trouble with the Women's Prison," Adamson said. "Most of us are fine with the changes as long as they adhere to what they've promised."
The compound has a new name: the Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility. Formerly a maximum-security prison housing about 450 women, it's now a minimum-security transition center that helps soon-to-be ex-convicts reintegrate into their communities.
The male inmates came from a center in Plainfield that soon will house inmates sentenced to less than a year in prison.
The re-entry facility will offer programs, including education, training and job skills, that are designed to reduce recidivism, officials said.
The female inmates were moved to the former Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility on the Far Westside in November. The juveniles were sent to a facility in Madison.