THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603230253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Thin bars of white light pass through 4-inch-wide windows, striping the cement floor of the Pasquotank Correctional Institution's G-Hall.
To gain access to this dim corridor linking the labyrinthine facility's entrance and kitchen with its living quarters, visitors must pass under escort through an electronic door, controlled by a guard post that's sheathed in a tinted screen.
The shined shoes of Capt. Randolph Parker click softly as he approaches the end of the hall, where a second electronic door gives way to an octagonal passage surrounded by cell blocks. A security camera monitors his motions.
By mid-May, hundreds of prisoners will pass this way every day to eat, work or receive vocational instruction while serving time for serious felonies.
Parker, who oversees about 25 corrections officers as first-shift security chief, is one of about 450 employees who will run the 386,000-square-foot close-security facility and a smaller, minimum-security building already in operation next door.
With its complement of about 1,150 inmates in the compound, the facility will rival Raleigh's Central Prison as the largest in the state. And Parker, who has 22 years' experience working in prisons, says the new structure - and its security system - will keep offenders where they belong.
``It's state of the art,'' said Parker, who most recently worked at Odom prison in Jackson. ``It's one of the best-designed, best-secured prisons in the state of North Carolina.
``If the staff do their job like they're supposed to, it'll be escape-proof. We'll see to that.''
State Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman and other dignitaries will visit Pasquotank County on Wednesday for a ribbon cutting to celebrate completion of the $35.5 million complex, which was authorized in 1991 after North Carolina voters passed a $200 million bond referendum.
Local officials have heralded the institution just off Route 17, whose annual operating budget will likely top $10 million, as a major economic boon that has brought hundreds of jobs and millions of state dollars into the area.
The 250-bed minimum-security unit began taking prisoners in August. And officials say only finishing touches are needed before prisoners under close security - one minor level below maximum security - can be brought in.
``It's ready for us to start preparing to receive inmates,'' said Lynn Phillips, director of prisons for the state Department of Correction. ``It's a pretty big event for us.''
Phillips said the dedication ceremony is more than a recognition of the work that went into building and staffing the facility.
``It's an opportunity for the public to see how their tax dollars are spent'' and what safety measures have been taken, he said. ``I think once they've seen it, they're going to be pretty comfortable.''
The close-custody prison, in the main building, has 712 cells measuring 8 feet by 10 feet each. But the prison already has fewer beds than needed, and officials expect to double-bunk 232 cells by summer.
``Everything here will be A-grade felony committed crimes - 30-year sentences, 40-year sentences, life sentences,'' said Van Barnes, assistant superintendent for operations.
Inmates in the minimum security unit already have been out on area roads doing cleanup work and will later be put to work raising crops on prison property. Several prisoners also are involved in bringing the close-security facility up to speed - buffing floors and staffing the kitchen that will soon provide more than 3,000 meals a day.
Prisoners' time will be carefully managed under a system that shuns idle hands. Inmates will take on tasks such as cooking, cleaning and repair work, or they will be enrolled in GED or vocational education programs taught by College of the Albemarle staff. ``All our inmates in here work,'' Barnes said.
Prisoners can earn up to $1 a day, which they can spend in the prison canteen on snacks and sodas. Money spent by the prisoners goes into a general fund used to pay for recreational materials such as sports equipment, books and televisions.
In another cost-saving measure, the prison is the first in the state that has private contractors providing all its medical care, Strahan said.
Prisoners will be awakened by a public address system about 6 each morning. After a head count, inmates will be rotated in 50-person groups through G-Hall into the dining area before being sent to their various assignments. Every move will be monitored by guards and cameras.
Toward the end of the day, prisoners will be rotated back into their cell areas. The closet-sized rooms contain a bunk, two metal slabs that jut from the wall for table and chair, a sink, a mirror and a toilet. The rooms face out to a common area that will include a television.
Lights are dimmed, but not entirely darkened, around 11 p.m. on weeknights and 11:30 on weekends, Parker said.
The 96-acre complex is surrounded by two layers of fence, which are protected with shiny coils of razor ribbon. A guard tower stands to one side, and corrections officers armed with shotguns patrol the grounds.
Guards inside the facility carry pepper spray - but not guns - Parker said. Should the need arise, the prison does have an armory.
Parker says he likes prison work.
``It's a challenge, something different every day,'' he said. ``I like being able to help people. A lot of times, we eventually can help one or two of these inmates. I know prisons are needed. It's doing a service for the community. And I like being a community servant.
``The frustration,'' he said, ``is seeing how the population is getting younger and younger, and more uncontrollable.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
DREW WILSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Correctional officers inspect a unit in the new prison north of
Elizabeth City. About 450 employees will run the complex.
The Pasquotank Correctional Institution combines a 250-bed minimum
security prison and a 712-cell close-custody prison. It will be able
to hold about 1,150 inmates.
RIBBON CUTTING
A dedication ceremony at the new Pasquotank Correctional Institution
will begin at noon Wednesday. The complex, which is pushing to admit
its first close-security prisoners by mid-May, will employ about 450
people and house more than 1,100 inmates. The prison is on Route 17
about seven miles north of Elizabeth City.
by CNB