9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | $7-million jail takes 'newer philosophy' with inmates

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | $7-million jail takes 'newer philosophy' with inmates
EAGLE COUNTY - Corey Baldwin spends 12 hours
day overseeing inmates in a new kind of jail that's
aimed at building relationships between those who
break the law and those who enforce it.

"I'm in here with the inmates at all times behind
locked doors," Baldwin said. "I'm interacting with the
inmates all day, so communication is a big part of
my job."

In this jail there's only one door. The beds, showers
and the recreation room are all in one room,
guarded by one deputy. Facing overcrowding, Eagle
County expanded its jail and its approach toward
inmate rehabilitation.

Captain Bill Kaufman says it means going from
small, single cells behind many closed doors, to
one open, well-lit room -- with video game
consoles, skylights and flat screen TVs.

"We started looking into a newer philosophy,"
Kaufman said.

Only minimum-risk inmates, or those who undergo
a series or programming classes, get to stay in the
POD. Any bad behavior means leaving the POD and
returning to older style jail cells.

The jail cost $7 million to build, and while small
amenities like the TVs and video game consoles
were paid for with money made at the inmate
commissary, critics might say it is too nice for
criminals. Those in law , however, say it is not as
nice as it might look.

"While this is a big, open space, if you have been
sentenced for nine months, it's not as big as you
think," Kaufman said.