The Donald E. Long facility is designed to be safe and secure. There is a central control center which allows monitoring of all areas of the building at one time and controls movement within the facility. Should an emergency occur within one unit, that incident is isolated from the rest of the facility. The central control is staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days weekly.
There is a staff-to-youth ratio of one to eight during waking hours and one to sixteen at nighttime, with 16 youth in each unit. Movement of youth within detention is restricted. All youth must be escorted by staff whenever there is a need for movement to visiting, court, medical, etc. We endeavor to have one-on-one escort. Youth are also escorted and supervised by staff when going to and from the gym for recreation.
At all times, staff on duty are to provide supervision of all juveniles and know their whereabouts within the unit. Personal inspection of each juvenile takes place hourly or more, as the situation dictates. A highly trained staff that is held accountable for their performance on the job, a well designed facility, a structured daily routine for youth all assist in providing for a safe and secure facility.