St. Louis County Jail

"Buzz Westfall Justice Center", January 2009

St. Louis City and St. Louis County separated in 1876 and left the county at its current size of 524 square miles (1,360 km²). After Clayton, Missouri was chosen as the permanent county seat, a courthouse and jail were built in December 1878. By 1945, a bond issue allowed for the construction of a new courthouse and jail in Clayton facing Forsyth Boulevard that was completed in 1949.[2]

A new state law allowed for jail facilities to be located outside of the county seat of Clayton. Because land costs in Clayton were considered prohibitive, the new Adult Correctional Institution was built in 1969 in Gumbo, a historical community which was located in present-day Chesterfield, Missouri approximately 15 miles (24 km) to the west.[2]

Continued jail overcrowding and deterioration of the remaining jail facilities in Chesterfield created pressure for new correctional facilities. In choosing a site for new facilities the costs and difficulties of continually transporting prisoners between jail facilities in far west County and court facilities in Clayton weighed in favor of a Clayton site for a new jail and expanded court facilities. The new Justice Center (which includes the St. Louis County Jail) opened in 1998 and is connected to the Courts Building by a secure skywalk, replacing both the jail in the 1949 Courthouse building and the Adult Correctional Building in Chesterfield.[2] The justice center was rededicated the "Buzz Westfall Justice Center" in 2004.[1] George "Buzz" Westfall was the St. Louis County Executive from 1990 to October 2003 when he died after developing a staph infection.

The jail has a total of 960 cells, with a capacity for 1,400 inmates, in overcrowded conditions. The Justice Center has nine levels, though some of those floors serve the jail administration, Prosecutors office, Public Defenders office, County Police Fingerprint Unit, Fugitive section and some Public Works offices. Each floor that houses inmates has a capacity of 301 inmates. Furthermore, each floor of the jail is divided into four units with 48 cells in each unit.

The cells in St. Louis County Jail do not have bars, instead the floor plan is laid out in a dormitory fashion. At the front of the housing unit, referred to as a "pod", there is a sally port door, with an inner and outer door. The outer door is controlled by a permanent staff member who mans a desk in the convergence area of the floor. The inner sally port is controlled by the housing unit officer. Once through the doors, the room opens up into a double tiered great-room. Near the sally port is the table area where inmates may use their rec time to play games. It also serves as their dining location. Beyond that is a TV area lined with plastic recliners. The inmates are provided with two flat-screen TV's to watch any number of channels provided to them. Near the rear of the pod is the officer's podium; a cinder block half-wall with a desk embedded into it. The officer must never be far from the podium as it contains their computer and the control panel which unlocks the doors in the pod.

The St. Louis County Jail uses a direct-supervision management philosophy in the main inmate housing areas. This style, unlike the traditional linear jail style, places correction officers directly within the inmate living units and provides the officers with immediate visual observation and continual interaction with the inmates. It also places the officer in a more vulnerable position, as the inmates are allowed nearly unrestricted access to the officer. All officers are issued pepper spray to carry on their person while in the housing unit. They are also issued a Personal Duress Alarm, which immediately sounds an alarm in the master control unit. A call is then made via radio to all available units to assist the officer in distress. Response times as well as the number of staff responding varies, as there is usually no more than 2 extra officers per floor and a maximum of 4 operating internal elevators.

Inmates are allowed up to two visits within any continuous seven-day period and no more than one visit per day. Visiting hours run from 10:00 am through 8:00 pm Monday through Sunday. Visiting periods are forty minutes long and begin promptly on the hour. Due to space limitations, an acceptable combination of visitors may include: two (2) adults; two (2) adults and one (1) child; or one (1) adult and two (2) children. Low-cut blouses, mini-skirts, short shorts and transparent or sheer clothing are strictly prohibited. Male visitors must wear shirts with sleeves. No "muscle shirts" are allowed.

STL County offers CHOICES and AA. The jail also offers GED classes and testing, as well as religious services of varying denominations.

• Total of 960 cells
• Holding capacity: 1400 inmates
• Capacity per floor: 301 inmates
• Average age: 32
• Average daily population: 1,150
• Average arrestees per year: 31,560
• Jail cells do not have bars
• Each housing floor has four units with 48 cells to each unit. Each unit holds 72 inmates.
• The Justice Center has 14 levels. (Floors four through eight are two stories in height each, but internally counted as one.)
• Approximately 1.4 million meals are prepared each year for inmates by food service staff
• An Electronic Home Detention (EHD) program started in 2006, replacing the Work Release Center that closed due to budgetary constraints.
• National Geographic filmed an episode of "Lockdown: County Jail" (July, 2009).

• Michael Devlin booked in October 2007, made national headlines for kidnappings.
• Sherman Burnett Jr., certified to stand trial as an adult, booked in January 2006, is the youngest inmate ever admitted in the adult facility at age 13. In November 2007, Burnett was sentenced to 60 years and will not be eligible for parole until 2056.
• Gary Kaplan, federally held inmate booked in 2007 exact date unknown, made international headlines as founder of BetonSports.com. His net worth is estimated at over 100 million dollars.

In September 2008, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Gary Kaplan received special privileges while in custody of the jail. He was allowed around the clock visits by family members and attorneys. He was also given access to a laptop computer and printers (1 for color and 1 for black and white). In response, the United States Marshals Service moved inmate Kaplan from St. Louis County Justice Center to the jail in St. Charles, Missouri. The FBI are investigating and conducting interviews as of October 2008.

• St. Louis County - Department of Justice Services
• American Correctional Association
• Soft Time in Jail for Big Time Bookie - StlToday.com