Introduction
While designing any facility the first paramount thing is to recognize the users and their needs. Thus the definition of a juvenile correction facility is needed before its design is laid out. A juvenile correction facility is a detention center where youth are held awaiting alignment in court. It is set to provide the facilities that the youth would receive at the hands of the parents. The understanding of the occupants and their needs is thus important in deliberating on the features of the final design
Security
One of the most vibrant sections of society is the youth. This makes them lured easily to unruliness. Thus, a juvenile correction facility should have the security maintained otherwise they might create mayhem. One of the ways of maintaining security is ensuring that there is only one doorway to the facility.
Placing only one entrance into the facility makes it easy to control the movements into and from the facility. Since the detained youth are not supposed to move out of the premises, the security shall make sure that only the security personnel and guests are entering and leaving the center.
The second security requirement is placing windows high enough to reduce chances of the youth jumping out of custody. It is recommended that the windows be placed at the highest section of the wall.
Amenities
As we have mentioned in the introduction, the facility is supposed to take the position of the parents for the youth in custody. Thus the detention center should at least have the basic amenities that are available in homes. Some of these amenities include; a television set’s library, modest food, as well as security. The latter is tackled in the section above (Figura, Little, 1984).
The population in the center may not be absolute. Thus the provision of television sets cannot be personal. This requires that the television set be placed in a position that is convenient for all the inmates. It is advisable to arrange chairs facing one direction and then place the television set at the front (Friesen, 2010).
Similarly, the washrooms should be located at a place that is convenient to all the persons. Where the facility holds inmates of the opposite sex, there should be provided washrooms for both genders separately.
Apart from the washrooms and the television sets, there should be a telephone that all the inmates can use. The placing of the telephone should be centralized so that all of them can use it. The telephone should be placed such that the person using it does not detract the person viewing the television set and also does not block the pathway to the washrooms. Preferably, the telephone should be placed at one of the corners of the hall.
As noted above a library is another consideration when designing a juvenile. While some of the youth prefer watching movies, others prefer reading. The topics that they read are diverse. Thus, the facility should provide as many topical subjects as possible. The availability of the materials should not compromise the need for the persons reading their space. Thus it is recommended that a separate hall for library be built so that the persons watching the television may not detract those reading.
As noted in other sections of this paper, the youth are vibrant in nature. This should be remembered when providing the materials in the library. The tendency of the youth to be misguided by the materials is very high. The persons responsible for the provision of these materials should thus be watchful of this. It is noted worth that a material reaching one of the youth can spoil the whole juvenile should he or he decide to mobilize the whole center to act in aggression (Friesen, 2010).
Guest area
It is expected that the youth who are in the juvenile may receive guests as they have the constitutional rights to do so. Thus the facility should provide a guest area for such visits. The guest area is recommended to be outside the television and the library halls at the supervision of the security organs. The guests’ area may be divided into various sections so that several inmates can receive guests at the same time.
The washrooms for the guests should be built separately from the inmate’s washrooms. This is to make sure that there is no confusion between the guests and the inmates. Also, the probability of an inmate personifying as a guest will have been reduced. This increases the efficiency of the correction center (Friesen, 2010).
Since the inmates may not have enough space for all of them to receive their guests at the same time, a reception/ waiting space should be built at the gate where the guests can wait for their turn to see the inmates. The guests can be made to queue at this point awaiting their chance of visiting their relatives friends or clients (Hesse, Lawrence, Hesse, 2009).
To control the whole facility, the security agents’ rooms should be located near the gate. This can be on the opposite side of the reception/ waiting room. The security personnel can use the same washrooms used by the guests. Visiting time should be regulated so that security can be intensified. The visits made against the regulation should not be allowed (Hesse, Lawrence, Hesse, 2009).
The height of the walls and the size of the windows are also a consideration in designing the correction facility. The walls are expected to be as high as possible. It is recommended that the walls be made not less than six meters high. There should be no windows at the outside walls; windows should be located at the halls’ windows. Thus it is also recommended that the hall not use the perimeter walls as their walls (Figura, Little, 1984).
Conclusion
A juvenile as it is usually referred to is a correction center that acts as a home to those in custody. It should be understood that the facility may not be able to provide all the amenities that the youth get at their homes. Thus the contentment of the youth should be measured by the government standards of modesty and not the provisions that the youth get at the hands of their parents. It is noted worth that some people have special needs physical and dietary, this should also be looked at and where necessary included in the design.
The recommendations for the design made above are oblivious of certain features that are common in any correction center regardless of age. These features should be included in the design.. Some of the requirements of a juvenile are security- of both the inmates and any guests, provision of basic amenities, availability of guests’ area, and housing of security agents.
References
Figura, A., Little, A., (1984). Security manual for juvenile corrections. New York: United States. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Friesen, B., (2010). Designing and Conducting Your First Interview Project. New York: John Wiley & sons Inc.
Hesse, M., Lawrence, R., Hesse, M., (2009). Juvenile Justice: The Essentials. New Jersey: SAGE