Jailhouse will rock: upgraded prison to be built on Guam
BY ALTHEA ENGMAN Journal Staff
The Guam Department of Public Works has put out a Request for Proposal for the design of a new correctional facility on Guam.
The RFP sought out qualified architectural and engineering firm services for the Guam Department of Corrections, which will be built in four phases. The new correctional facility is estimated to be completed by the 2035 time frame.
RFPs are now due on Nov 15, a deadline that was extended from the original due date of Sept. 11 to Oct. 11, and then to Oct 26 after Tropical Storm Bolaven. The new design is to be built in phases to allow for continued operation of the existing facility as a new one is being built, according to Journal sources.
The first phase will consist of a prison cell block that will house 480 total detainees. The second phase would add two cell blocks and 320 additional beds. The most expensive phase — phase 3, will house from 96 up to 144 maximum security inmates. Phase four will add an additional 160 beds.
The combined phases will result in a 1,000-bed correctional facility.
The Department of Corrections in downtown Hagatna. Photo by Althea Engman
DPW’s RFP report said the new prison design was validated by ‘Benchmarking” trips to Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Ga., Phoenix County Jail, Ariz., Franklin County Sheriff, Columbus, Ohio, and the Saginaw County Jail, Michigan Facilities.
According to the RFP, the current prison in Hagatna had a total population of less than 300, about 18 years ago. As of one year prior to COVID-19, it was at a high of about 700 detainees.
In the RFP project overview, DPW said that the “DOC master plan was developed once all the fact-finding efforts were completed. Some of the most important inputs were the SWOT analysis, population trends and projections, the inputs from medical, behavioral health, officers and various inspections of the facility and its key components. The fact-finding mission was most important to clearly understand where the prison had come from in the past and where it is currently positioned.”
The last audit by the Office of Public Accountability in 2013 found that DOC did not follow standards, among other comments.
The new Department of Corrections can be classified as of significant size.
According to the American Jail Association, jails are categorized according to size. “Mega jails have a 1,000-plus bed capacity. Large jails have a 250- to 999-bed capacity. Medium jails have a 50- to 249-bed capacity. Small jails have a 1-to 49-bed capacity,” the association said.
Depending on what a facility contains and construction materials, costs can vary enormously. The cost of building prisons in the U.S. has also grown.
The Guam community can expect inmates to have new medical, dental, and behavioral units, as well as rehabilitation training, and housing for the seriously mentally ill amongst many fixtures.
In its own preparations, the state of Wisconsin found that “a single new 1,200-bed maximum security prison will cost approximately $500 million,” and that new housing units that can hold over 1,000 inmates at medium security institutions would cost more than $100 million in construction costs each, according to the Mead/Hunt report from the Badger Institute.
Franklin County’s jail cost about $360 million.
One of the major issues the current facility faces is the open-air concept, especially with electric powered drones becoming more popular. Additionally, there are no safeguards “to stop officers and others from sneaking in contraband”, the RFP said. There have also been instances of items being thrown over the fence.
With the proposed new designs, the facility hopes to resolve most of their issues as well as new safeguards to overcrowding, food delivery and meal service. mbj
