I went to jail on Monday. Not only that, I made it back to campus for my afternoon classes. Nothing to it.
My visit - a tour of the Strafford County Jail - was just the latest event from the Discovery Program related to the University Dialogue theme "Poverty and Opportunity." Three other students and I gathered outside Hood House around noon on Monday. We quickly realized we were all there for class assignments, from Creative Nonfiction and Sociology to courses covering race, gender and equality.
Michele Holt-Shannon, administrative director of the Discovery Program, wasn't dismayed by our small size. As we drove to Dover, Holt-Shannon said our visit was just a trial run. The Discovery Program hopes to offer several tours next semester following a visit to UNH by political activist and university professor Angela Davis. Davis is the author of the book "Are Prisons Obsolete?" and Holt-Shannon hopes her discussion will spur interest among students in learning about the prison system.
Jake Collins, corrections officer and education director for the Strafford County Jail, led us through a tour of the facility that houses 400 inmates, approximately 100 of which are female. The amount of female inmates is the highest of any jail in the state.
He first showcased the control center, which appeared as the typical security setup, with individuals monitoring the jail on computer screens. The control center also monitors all the doors in the building, and controls when they are opened, which led to a several second wait each time we came to one before we got clearance.
A trip down the hall gave us our first real look at the prison experience. Once again, the structure was traditional, a central circular monitoring desk staffed by several officers, surrounded on all sides by cells, encased behind class. There were several sections, each a different security level. Some sections had a common area with tables and a TV, and inmates could go in and out of their cells freely. The next section over, however, was maximum security, where inmates spend 23 hours a day inside their cells.
We also visited another wing that contained inmates requiring the lowest level of security. A large common area was flanked once again by numerous cells. The area had 72 inmates and was monitored by a single officer at a desk within the common area.
The booking area was next, where new inmates are dropped off and assimilated into the prison environment. This section also contained holding cells. In a practice known as protective custody, these cells hold individuals who are believed to be endangering themselves or others, often due to being drunk. Here Collins related the grim statistic that UNH students are in protective custody at the jail almost nightly.
"It's where you go when you get arrested on campus," said senior Brendan D'Orsay on the ride home.
Collins said different states have different philosophies regarding the prison system. Some use education and other programs in an attempt to reform the inmates, whereas others are more inclined to lock the inmates in and throw away the key. The Stafford County jail subscribes to the former.
Our tour went past the jail library, full of paperbacks and DVDs and a computer room, where inmates could write up résumés and learn technical skills. We also passed a GED class in session.
However, the main example of the Stafford County Jail's commitment to reform is its "Therapeutic Community," which treats those with drug and alcohol abuse problems. The community is an intense 90-day program, combining counseling, cognitive behavior change programming and peer support. Separate programs are offered for both men and women, and there is often a waiting list to get in.
The program is very rigorous. The individuals rise at 5:30 every morning and go to bed at 9 p.m., the hours in between a non-stop schedule of AA meetings, spiritual development and vocational training. A single infraction gets an inmate kicked out and lands them back in the traditional prison structure. This was the section of the tour that most affected my fellow students and me, as the participants spoke of their experiences.
Their stories quickly hit close to home. One inmate was a UNH student just last year, a football player who would have been a junior now. Another spoke of the hardships he would face when he graduates the program, since the family he will return to is still entrapped in the cycle of substance abuse themselves.
"You realize how isolating it can be if you're surrounded by drugs and alcohol and don't want to be a part of it," said senior Meredith Gorman.
Nevertheless, the participants all spoke positively of their experience and were hopeful for the future.
"It's good that they have a program like that," said D'Orsay. "It's almost like a brotherhood to them."
Although the reason for our tour was primarily the strong link between poverty and spending time in prison, Collins said he had seen all walks of life in his seven years working at the jail, from the destitute to millionaires.
Overall students were very receptive of the tour, and felt the Discovery Program was a worthwhile initiative.
"I think this would be great for more students to do," said D'Orsay.
Come next semester, they'll likely have their chance - to visit, that is.
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