Policing in Princeton: Managing Arrests

Arrestees today are brought handcuffed into the building through the open garage bay.  They are walked carefully through the garage so they remain out of reach of items stored along and on the walls. The transporting officer removes the prisoner’s handcuffs at the “booking/sitting area” and the prisoner is then then handcuffed to a hook in the wall by leg shackles around one wrist. Before structural engineers informed the Town that the floor of the garage was unsafe for vehicular load, the officer would drive into the garage and shut the door before moving the arrestee. That reduced the likelihood of the prisoner bolting after exiting the vehicle.

Our police station doesn’t have a holding cell. We have a chair (not fastened down) and a u-bolt in the wall of the station. This area is adjacent to the police administrator’s desk and the copy machine. It is at the edge of a hallway used by people moving about the station, or heading to the locker room and the break area. Officers coming on shift while a booking is in process walk closely by any prisoner. Prisoners have bitten officers, kicked over the booking desk, banged their head on the floor and copy machine, kicked officers walking by, spat at officers, thrown chairs and, recently, tried to suffocate themselves with the leg shackles they were secured to the wall with. 

Since we don’t have a holding cell (never mind one with the required fixtures), prisoners must use the officer’s bathroom. They are not handcuffed while in the bathroom. None of the bathroom fixtures were designed to prevent breakage and other misuse. The use of the officer’s bathroom puts suicidal prisoners, police officers and staff at risk.

While moving from the police car to the u-bolt in the wall, there are many opportunities for a highly motivated prisoner to seek escape. The doors leading to the exterior of the building from the booking area are not secured from the inside, allowing a prisoner to run/walk out of booking. The breathalyzer machine is located right next to two easily accessible (not secured from the inside) exit doors - one to the garage and one to the hallway.

By law, domestic assault arrestees need to be held for six hours before they can be released.  An officer would have to sit with the individual in the booking area for at least six hours or call/beg another agency (town, for example) to hold them until they could be released.  Some agencies have charged fees to hold prisoners and others have required that Princeton provide an officer to sit with the prisoner even though they are in a cell. This can result in huge overtime costs if on a weekend or holiday.

The new public safety building that is being designed will solve a lot of these problems. The new station will have a sally port. This is a garage that opens directly into the booking and cell area. The first thing the officer would do after shutting the garage door and exiting the vehicle would be to store his or her weapon in the sally port firearm lockbox. This would prevent the prisoner from taking the officer’s weapon. All doors out of the booking / cell area would require a badge and pin code to open.

Photos and fingerprints can be taken and the breathalyzer machine used inside the safety of the booking area. The booking area will be all concrete so prisoners will be less likely to cause damage to their surroundings.

The new building will also have two holding cells. Massachusetts law is very specific about how cells must be built and outfitted. There is a minimum size and all fixtures must be anchored down and unbreakable. The cells must have a camera and audio so that prisoners can be monitored safely. Any prisoner who is out of control can be held until they can be safely booked. This is sometimes an issue if drugs or alcohol are involved. In addition, prisoners can be safely held in a cell until they can be brought to court or released. The police department could move to a system where Matrons are used to watch prisoners at a lower cost than police overtime.