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Inmates Escorted To New Home
Sheriff’s Office: Transfer Into New Yankton County Jail Now Completed
By Nathan Johnson
nathan.johnson@yankton.net
Yankton County inmates were escorted into their new home during the weekend.
At around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the inmates were transferred from the old detention facility to the new Yankton County Jail. About 30 prisoners were issued new uniforms, were searched and had their personal property placed into a new holding system.
“We’re glad to be in the new jail,” Sheriff Dave Hunhoff said. “It’s been a little hectic getting ready to make that move after some 30 years in the old jail, but I think the staff did a tremendous job. They thought it out well.”
Some items were moved Thursday and Friday, but a majority of the transition had to be done Saturday, according to Hunhoff. He had hoped to finish the process earlier last week, but not all the necessary locks and equipment had yet to be installed.
The move wrapped up around 9 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re watching for things that don’t work, and there has been surprisingly little - a couple of doors here and there and a plumbing problem,” Hunhoff said.
A learning curve has been necessary for everyone involved in the operation, he said. Prisoners have new rules to follow, such as not walking beyond red lines taped to the floor and learning the protocols for using the intercoms placed throughout the facility. Staff is still getting used to working with the automated door locks and new equipment. The public will also have to get used to the jail, Hunhoff said.
For the past year, the entrance to the jail was through the sheriff’s office. Now the point of entry is in the alley off Walnut Street between City Hall and the Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center. Intercoms in the lobby area will allow visitors to speak with jail personnel.
Hunhoff is also excited new technology that will allow the jail to offer expanded services to the local citizenry. Inmate visitation hours will be from 9-11 a.m. and 7-9 p.m. daily thanks to the new video/audio visitation system. Inmates will no longer be escorted to a visitation area. Instead, computer monitors in the cell blocks will allow them to see and speak with friends and family via similar equipment in a visitation area near the jail lobby.
Fingerprinting service hours have also been expanded and can now be obtained from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The new jail will hold about 95 prisoners in a pod-style configuration that will allow jailers to have visual contact with the prisoners at all times through large tinted windows. Its proximity to the courts will allow prisoners to be escorted to hearings while never leaving a secure area.
Law enforcement will bring prisoners into the facility through a sally port near the public jail entrance.
Hunhoff said incarceration in the county has come a long way since he worked his way through college overseeing the jail at the former Yankton County Courthouse along Broadway many years ago. That facility was nicknamed “Old Leaky” because it was in such poor condition that it wasn’t unusual for inmates to escape occasionally.
“It’s a 100 percent turn-around,” Hunhoff said.
For more information about inmate visitation and fingerprinting services, visit www.yanktonsheriffsoffice.com.
At around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the inmates were transferred from the old detention facility to the new Yankton County Jail. About 30 prisoners were issued new uniforms, were searched and had their personal property placed into a new holding system.
“We’re glad to be in the new jail,” Sheriff Dave Hunhoff said. “It’s been a little hectic getting ready to make that move after some 30 years in the old jail, but I think the staff did a tremendous job. They thought it out well.”
Some items were moved Thursday and Friday, but a majority of the transition had to be done Saturday, according to Hunhoff. He had hoped to finish the process earlier last week, but not all the necessary locks and equipment had yet to be installed.
The move wrapped up around 9 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re watching for things that don’t work, and there has been surprisingly little - a couple of doors here and there and a plumbing problem,” Hunhoff said.
A learning curve has been necessary for everyone involved in the operation, he said. Prisoners have new rules to follow, such as not walking beyond red lines taped to the floor and learning the protocols for using the intercoms placed throughout the facility. Staff is still getting used to working with the automated door locks and new equipment. The public will also have to get used to the jail, Hunhoff said.
For the past year, the entrance to the jail was through the sheriff’s office. Now the point of entry is in the alley off Walnut Street between City Hall and the Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center. Intercoms in the lobby area will allow visitors to speak with jail personnel.
Hunhoff is also excited new technology that will allow the jail to offer expanded services to the local citizenry. Inmate visitation hours will be from 9-11 a.m. and 7-9 p.m. daily thanks to the new video/audio visitation system. Inmates will no longer be escorted to a visitation area. Instead, computer monitors in the cell blocks will allow them to see and speak with friends and family via similar equipment in a visitation area near the jail lobby.
Fingerprinting service hours have also been expanded and can now be obtained from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The new jail will hold about 95 prisoners in a pod-style configuration that will allow jailers to have visual contact with the prisoners at all times through large tinted windows. Its proximity to the courts will allow prisoners to be escorted to hearings while never leaving a secure area.
Law enforcement will bring prisoners into the facility through a sally port near the public jail entrance.
Hunhoff said incarceration in the county has come a long way since he worked his way through college overseeing the jail at the former Yankton County Courthouse along Broadway many years ago. That facility was nicknamed “Old Leaky” because it was in such poor condition that it wasn’t unusual for inmates to escape occasionally.
“It’s a 100 percent turn-around,” Hunhoff said.
For more information about inmate visitation and fingerprinting services, visit www.yanktonsheriffsoffice.com.
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