Unless plans for a new regional jail in Rowan County include space for amenities to rehabilitate prisoners, they probably won’t be approved by the Kentucky Department of Corrections, so says the president of Trace Creek Construction.
Sam Howard’s company is managing the multi-million dollar project for the Rowan Fiscal Court.
Howard says state and federal officials don’t want to construct new detention centers that simply keep inmates behind bars. Howard says they want to make sure the facilities have rooms and programs with the potential for changing criminal behavior.
“We believe the best way to do that is to provide for them up front and that’s one of the things we’ll be looking at in the design is ways that we can maximize that effort for the benefit of the county.” --Sam Howard
Howard believes the new Rowan jail will be designed with those programs in mind, as well as features that enable prisoners to be monitored with a minimum of staff.
