| The new downtown Justice Center in Denver, Colorado is conceived as the extension of the civic core that includes the historic State Capitol, the City/County Building and the United States Mint. As a result of a worldwide search for signature designers, Hartman Cox/Ricci Greene Associates/VRJS/Oz Architecture was selected to design and construct the new 1,500-bed detention center. The new facility includes central booking for all of the Denver Police Department, two new arraignment courtrooms that operate virtually around the clock to process new arrestees as well as a variety of housing units specially designed to accommodate the characteristics of short-term pre-trial population. A behavior-based classification analysis performed by Ricci Greene Associates working in close collaboration with the Denver Sheriff’s Department generated a variety of housing units including Trustee worker dorms; minimum secure dormitories; 8 bed dormitories; 64 bed general housing in a double-bunked configuration and 48 bed special housing units for administrative and punitive segregation.
In addition to central booking and intake/release the facility includes a complete medical unit for triage, treatment and long stay care, a full kitchen, and staff services. Program space is dedicated for each unit with the additional provision of shared space. Visitation is a combination of contact; non-contact and video as appropriate for classification.
The City and the Sheriff’s Department have a commitment to Direct Supervision mode of supervision for all of the housing units, except for maximum security designations, and a further goal of providing daylight directly into the dayroom of every housing unit. Each dayroom faces onto to the surrounding street, but is screened from pedestrian view. Most services are provided on the housing unit to virtually eliminate inmate movement
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