Going Behind the Bars

Some cliches never go out of style, "do the crime, do the time"...and we do the research on every detail, might I add.This, of course, is only made possible with a transparent system, which is what the jail on Orient Road proved to be.

Here in Hillsborough County, the Jail at Orient gives the feel of being far from home, no matter where Tampa residents reside, but has the capacity to house 2, 011. Home sweet home.

Reaching a record of 5,012 five years ago, Hillsborough County Jail has leveled out at about 3100 inmates. These numbers have recently decreased by an astounding 10% due to a new strategy officials are now implementing called ILP,or Intelligence Led Policy. Smarter arrests have lowered crime stats drastically.

This is done by focusing on the troublemakers who are responsible for 80% of the crimes, according to officials. A method so simple, but yet so productive.

Among those who do make it into the dog house and cannot post bail, they are held until coming before the in-house judge, which at times, could be weeks, months or, occasionally, years. They are then placed in holding cells, or PODS, where they are given behavior-based benefits depending on attitude and conduct. The stepping stones of "moving on up" in jail are clearly present at Orient, but great conduct still requires a degree of supervision.

With three tiers of supervised strategies tried in the past, Hillsborough County Jail finds the direct strategy most effective. This is when deputies stay in the POD 24/7 and eventually form relationships and levels of trust with the inmates. While some may believe this is odd and jail should be a place of punish,not relationships,I beg to differ. The worst punishment anyone could endure is loneliness and I believe it is important for a level of bonding to take place among the men, women and officers,for safety purposes and mere human needs at a bare minimum.

There is also access within these walls to documents and information many may not think twice to consider, but could easily find.

In the records office, files contain affidavits with criminal information, which is what a reporter would obtain to cover a crime. But of course, all social security numbers are redacted.

Even criminals have rights to privacy.

You can also get CRA's (Criminal Report Affidavit) from inactive records or contact Ms.Debbie Carter for further help with locating more specific files.

Some documents, like charges and posted bond can be accessed right online, while other documents, like information regarding the probable cause or the Direct File Warrant must be accessed in person or by contacting the originating agency.

When doing criminal research, it's important to make it count,after all, you only want to have to go to jail for a good reason, hopefully being to do some diligent research for an informative outcome.