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Some attributes of Leavenworth County’s new Justice Center

By Staff | Mar 15, 2000

Following are some of the features of the new Justice Center, 601 S. Third St., east of the Leavenworth County Courthouse.

Visitors pass through metal detectors at the front door. Items that they carry are placed on a conveyor belt and run through the metal detector.

The Leavenworth police department will be headquartered on the north side of the building’s main floor, and the sheriff’s department will take up the south side.

The central control room, on the main floor, includes a lit indicator that shows what doors in the building are being opened.

Officers in the central control area can oversee the visiting room, medical room, doctor’s office, and can accept books or cash brought to the inmates.

Five courtrooms were built four Leavenworth County District Court courtrooms on the fourth floor and one Leavenworth Municipal Court courtroom on the third floor.

The county attorney’s offices will be on the third floor.

All probation, child support, anything to do with criminal justice, will be housed in the building.

Prisoners will be brought into the building by a law enforcement vehicle which will enter the windowless garage on the lower level. After the garage door closes, the officer locks weapons in a cabinet in the garage and then escorts the prisoner into the booking area.

A bondsman area includes a window where prisoners may talk to their bondsmen. The bondsmen conduct business with prisoners from the outer side of the jail area without entering the jail.

Video-arraignment area where judges on the fourth floor can communicate with prisoners on the ground floor via closed-circuit television.

A padded cell in the booking area.

Two interview rooms separated by a room that has one-way windows facing the interview rooms.

Six visiting bays that are anticipated to be open eight hours a day. Currently, the old jail has two visitor bays that are only open from two- to -three hours a week.

The jail area is made of eight pods, one that houses 11 inmates, one that houses 13 inmates, and five that will house up to 28 prisoners each. The eighth pod is designed for recreational use. Two of the pods will hold maximum-security prisoners.

All jail pods are located around a circular hallway, and a mezzanine control booth will house officers who can see inside all pods from their station. All locks to the pods and cells are controlled from this booth.

A warming kitchen on the lower level where food that has been prepared at the county infirmary will be brought to the jail in bulk. The kitchen area was constructed to allow for enlargement if the meals are eventually prepared on site.

The dispatch and 911 area will be housed in a room that measures approximately 1,000 square feet. Equipment will expand from two 911 consoles to eight.

The juvenile detention center, built in 1995, will remain in its present location, east of the Justice Center.