A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Evidence lockers
Did you know?
-The Carlton County Justice Center will house the Sheriff's Office, the jail, 911 dispatch center, probation, courtrooms, court administration, the Carlton County Attorney's Office and public defender offices.
-The total size of the project is 112,276 square feet located on a 28-acre county-owned wooded site next to the existing County Transportation Building off County Road 61.
-The Sheriff's Office includes administrative offices for administration, detectives, patrol officers, evidence storage and enough garage space to store patrol cars and emergency equipment for all seasons.
-The jail has 96 beds, including a regional 16-bed Justice Involved Females program component that will begin in January. Jail inmate spaces are also color coded: Men's spaces are green, women's are blue and the Justice Involved program space is purple. The jail also holds inmate services including medical, food and laundry. Jail visitors will communicate via a videophone with inmates.
Body scanner
A new body scan machine will be able to detect if people have swallowed drugs or stashed them in other body cavities. It will help keep narcotics out of the jail and keep people safer.
"We do realize people ingest certain substances, so it's good to know so we can try to get them medical attention until it passes, so they and other inmates don't have access," Coughlin said. "They could share with four or five people in a cell and if it's fentanyl, they could kill everybody unintentionally."
Jail staff had to go through 80 hours worth of training before the move, not only on the facility, but also all the different tools at the new jail. The amount of X-ray is far lower than a hospital X-ray and only between the panels, Coughlin said.
911 call center
The 911 communication center has four stations with multiple screens at each, but there is more space between each station in the justice center than the current jail. That will spread fewer germs but also allows dispatchers to focus on their own calls without distractions while still being able to communicate with their co-workers.
"You could have two emergencies at the very same time and two dispatchers who are dealing with very different issues, or it could be one is coordinating fire, one is coordinating law enforcement, and because it's a major accident, they also have to call for an air ambulance," said jail administrator Paul Coughlin. "Things can get very busy here."
Separate elevators
There is a public elevator (pictured) and a jail elevator in the new justice center, unlike the historic courthouse, where there is only one elevator.
"We have an elevator that we can bring the inmates straight up to secure court holding areas while they can wait for court to take place," said Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake. "Currently in our [courthouse], everyone uses the same elevator, the same hallways - defendants, witnesses, victims and public are all in the same spot. This building ... is much safer and more secure and also doesn't risk a mistrial if all those people happen to collide.
Safe evidence handling
A new evidence room is temperature controlled with adequate space for processing, secure lockers for chain of evidence and a now vital piece of equipment: a vacuum tight processing space.
"If fentanyl comes out of the packaging accidentally, it would be sucked up [by the vacuum], so we don't have to use Narcan for any deputies because of accidental exposure," Coughlin said. "It's such a strong potent drug."
Padded intake cell
In the new jail, there are four different group holding areas and seven individual cells for people when they are just coming into jail. Pictured is what Coughlin called a "rubber room."
"We have a lot of times where people have issues and are trying to harm themselves," he said. "That entire cell is spray painted with a foam. It feels firm, but there's a give to it so it would be hard to injure yourself."
All of the intake cells have a drain in the floor as well as a toilet, so staff can clean, bleach and drain any contaminants.
Specialty courts
Designed with lots of wood and rock accents, the third courtroom is designed for specialty courts, such as drug treatment court or Indian Child Welfare Act cases. "In our specialty courts the judge comes down from the bench and joins the circle," Sheriff Lake said. The modern courtrooms have excellent sound systems and acoustics. In addition to large screens for presenting evidence, jurors in Courtrooms 1 and 2 will also have smaller screens in front of each seat.
Cell blocks
The new building has 13 different cell blocks so jail staff can classify people with 16 different layers of separation. Each cell has a toilet and a shower space, some are handicapped accessible. This cell block could hold up to 12 people.
Right now, they're grouped together based on the space available. Once we move here, we'll be able to house people who are similar, so you don't have somebody on a traffic violation with someone that's accused of murder," Coughlin said.
Jail staff can see into all the different cell blocks from a raised desk area in the middle of the space. The cell blocks are stationed around the post like a pinwheel.
"The current jail is more of a linear style where we have to go to the inmates," Coughlin said. "Now they can sit here and monitor them through the windows, without physically having to go anywhere."
