Some of America’s most dangerous citizens are housed in correctional facilities. Keeping them behind bars must always be the top priority. However, the facilities are also tasked with keeping these individuals safe within their walls.
Employees must be properly trained, doors and windows must be secured, violent inmates cannot be housed with the general population, and more. One thing that may be overlooked when outfitting a facility is the furnishings. The purchasing team must look into justice furniture to ensure inmates cannot use these items to harm themselves or others. What features should be present in these furnishing to help achieve this goal?
No Tie-Down Points
Inmates in a correctional facility have a lot of free time on their hands. They could use this time to better themselves and make it easier to reintegrate into society in the future. Sadly, some inmates don’t use this time wisely. Instead, they spend it thinking of ways to harm themselves and others.
Furnishing in a correctional facility should never have tie-down points as they can be used to achieve this goal. Tie-down points are ideal for attaching cords, ropes, and other ligatures. An inmate may use one of these points to commit suicide or to harm another inmate. By choosing furnishings without tie-down points, the facility can reduce the risk of this happening.
Bolt Locations
When researching furnishings, look for those that come with bolt holes. These holes make it easy to secure the furnishings so they cannot be used as weapons. Tables and chairs, for example, can be broken apart if they are not secured. The inmates may then use the broken piece as weapons. This scenario can be easily avoided by securing all furnishings inmates have access to in the facility.
Monolithic Items
Anyone who has ever cleaned behind and under couch cushions knows the many items that can make their way into these hiding spots. This may be nothing more than an annoyance at home because nobody wants to clean under there. However, in a correctional facility, these hiding spots are of great concern. They are ideal for hiding contraband from those charged with overseeing the inmates.
Monolithic furniture eliminates these hiding spots. This protects both inmates and staff members. In addition, it makes it easier to clean the furnishings, as there are no hiding spots for germs.
Security Features
Items that may be used as weapons must always be secured. Storage cabinets with locks are one way to achieve this goal. The cabinets should be placed in an area not normally accessible to inmates. If they must be in an area inmates spend time in, they need to be made of steel or another material that cannot be broken apart or damaged easily to prevent unauthorized access.
Ease of Cleaning
Another factor to consider when purchasing furnishings for a correctional facility is the ease of cleaning the items. This goes beyond not having hiding spaces. As the global pandemic demonstrated, viruses can make their way into any location, including correctional facilities. Easy-to-clean furnishings reduce the risk of germs being missed when the items are cleaned. In addition, the reduced cleaning time helps keep employees safe. They spend less time around the inmates, so there will be fewer concerns about worker safety.
Price should never be the deciding factor when purchasing furnishings for correctional facilities. The safety of inmates and staff must always come first. By keeping these features in mind when making this purchase, any facility will have done its best when it comes to achieving this goal.
