Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Maximum-security prison unit in Monroe now fully operational
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Kevin Nortz / Herald file
A new $39.5 million, maximum-security unit at the Monroe prison complex is expected to house the most violent offenders from the state's prison system. Half of the 200-bed unit started housing inmates in 2007. The other half is set to open today.
By Yoshiaki Nohara
Herald Writer
MONROE -- It's a jail within a prison.
A new maximum-security unit at the Monroe prison complex is taking in violent offenders from the state's prison system. Half of the 200-bed unit started housing inmates in 2007. The other half is set to open today.
The new unit is the latest addition to the Monroe prison complex. The complex used to have only 80 beds to isolate and lock up dangerous offenders. With the new unit, other prisons are sending violent inmates to Monroe.
Here are some numbers about the new unit and the prison complex.
$39.5 million: The price tag of the unit.
77,000 square feet: The size of the facility.
23: How many hours a day offenders spend in small cells of the maximum-security unit. They are allowed to leave only for showers and exercise.
6 feet by 12 feet: How big each cell is in the maximum security unit. The cell has minimum necessities including a concrete desk and chair, a thin mattress, a mirror, a toilet and a sink.
50: How many correctional officers are expected to work to keep the maximum security unit safe 24 hours a day. The unit has a cutting-edge surveillance system.
2,500: How many offenders are incarcerated at the state's largest prison complex.
1,100: How many people, including many Monroe residents, who work at the complex.
900: How many people in the community volunteer in many activities to help inmates interact with people outside the complex.
Five: How many units exist at the prison complex. In addition to the new maximum-security unit, it has the sex offender's unit, the special offender unit for inmates with mental issues, the minimum-security unit and the Washington State Reformatory for other inmates.
3,500: How many beds the state plans to add at prisons statewide by 2009. The new unit at the Monroe prison complex is part of the prison expansion.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Herald Writer
MONROE -- It's a jail within a prison.
A new maximum-security unit at the Monroe prison complex is taking in violent offenders from the state's prison system. Half of the 200-bed unit started housing inmates in 2007. The other half is set to open today.
The new unit is the latest addition to the Monroe prison complex. The complex used to have only 80 beds to isolate and lock up dangerous offenders. With the new unit, other prisons are sending violent inmates to Monroe.
Here are some numbers about the new unit and the prison complex.
$39.5 million: The price tag of the unit.
77,000 square feet: The size of the facility.
23: How many hours a day offenders spend in small cells of the maximum-security unit. They are allowed to leave only for showers and exercise.
6 feet by 12 feet: How big each cell is in the maximum security unit. The cell has minimum necessities including a concrete desk and chair, a thin mattress, a mirror, a toilet and a sink.
50: How many correctional officers are expected to work to keep the maximum security unit safe 24 hours a day. The unit has a cutting-edge surveillance system.
2,500: How many offenders are incarcerated at the state's largest prison complex.
1,100: How many people, including many Monroe residents, who work at the complex.
900: How many people in the community volunteer in many activities to help inmates interact with people outside the complex.
Five: How many units exist at the prison complex. In addition to the new maximum-security unit, it has the sex offender's unit, the special offender unit for inmates with mental issues, the minimum-security unit and the Washington State Reformatory for other inmates.
3,500: How many beds the state plans to add at prisons statewide by 2009. The new unit at the Monroe prison complex is part of the prison expansion.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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