High Desert State Prison (Nevada)

:For the California prison of the same name, see Susanville, California.High Desert State Prison is a state prison in Nevada, USA. Located near Indian Springs, Clark County, it is the largest major institution of the Nevada Department of Corrections.

The 1,576,000 square foot (146,000 m²) complex lies approximately 25 miles northwest of Las Vegas along highway 95. It was designed as the most secure prison within the Nevada Department of Corrections system. High Desert State Prison contains 8 housing units designed to house 336 inmates each. Each unit is separated into four (4) sections called "pods". Each set of two "pods" shares a common control center and staff office. Each set of two pods also shares an entry "sallyport" and "activity room". There is also a 26,000 square foot (2,400 m²) infirmary at the institution. All of this is on a 160 acre (647,000 m²) site which is kept secure by a lethal (electrified) fence and 7 armed gun towers as well as an armed roving perimeter patrol officer. As of this update (May, 2008), there is a construction project underway to add even more beds to the facility.

The Tonopah Conservation Camp is associated with this prison.

The Clark County School District provides the education program on site using 8 classrooms and 2 libraries.

History

The institution opened on September 1, 2000 and became the reception unit for Southern Nevada. This facility was designed to be the first of several prisons to be built at this location. The facility was originally slated to be the State of Nevada's first tobacco-free institution but the idea was met with opposition from inmates and notably, staff. The facility presented many design challenges such as electrical backup and water supply as well as staff retention issues due to the remote location. The closest populated area to the prison is the town of Indian Springs, NV (population 1,300) which is 8 miles north of the prison. To date, there have been two expansions to High Desert State Prison which is already the largest prison in Nevada. The first expansion, which was completed in 2004, added a 60,000 square foot prison-industries building and an inmate gym. The second expansion is currently underway (as of this update May, 2008) and will add four more housing units. The capacity of High Desert will be brought to over 3,000 inmates when the addition is complete making High Desert one of the largest prisons in the United States.High Desert State Prison is currently a Medium security prison but is in the stages of becoming a Maximum/Medium security prison. There are a few reasons for the security level change. One reason is that High Desert is structurally the most secure prison in the State of Nevada's Department of Corrections. Another reason is the state's current Maximum security prison is located in Ely, Nevada and due to the extremely remote location of the town, staffing the prison poses critical challenges.When the planned security-level of High Desert is complete, the institution will, in essence, be run as two institutions that share a common core area. The prison is even planned to have two wardens.

External links

* [http://www.doc.nv.gov/hdsp/index.php High Desert State Prison]