Polk Correctional Institution

The 43 million dollar Polk Correctional Institution was activated in 1997, replacing the previous facility in Raleigh, NC. It houses a close-​custody inmate population of around 900+, currently male at ages 19 – 25; which is the states largest population institution. It also serves as a inmate diagnostic processing center. It operates via a sworn and non-​sworn staff of 500+.

The institution is setup with dorms, single cells, segregated single cells, and HCON single cells. The first of its kind in NC, the HCON unit is a real true to life «Supermax» unit that is mostly unknown or misunderstood. In 1998 the HCON unit was one of only two supermax units on the east coast. The unit contains the state’s most violent and extreme offenders that are not on death row.
Polk has the following limited work and education assignments for inmates: food service, janitorial, warehouse, barbers, school, general labor, clothing service, canteen service, and rec service.
In my experience in the past working with Polk, it is about average with similar state institutions.

My review is fairly limited, as I have never been an employee or prisoner at this facility. My review is based on my opinions and recollection from a summer tour of the facility in the summer of 2012. I was taken with a group to a number of areas within this facility, met with staff from different areas of the prison, and spoke with three inmates.
The first thing that made an impression on me was that many of the prisoners lived in cells/​buildings that did not have any air conditioning. Apparently, this led to a spike in violence among inmates in the summer, since they were miserable from the heat and agitated. This prison is not that old, and I don’t understand why they can’t provide something as simple as air conditioning to reduce violence in the summer months.
I also remember hearing there were only limited positions for some of the inmates to work and for some to take academic classes. Given what we know about recidivism rates, I was astonished that academic learning is not available to every single inmate. As for the work opportunities, the inmates made something like less than a dollar for an eight hour shift.
From my observations, I did not get the impression that inmates were treated with respect. Rehabilitation did not seem to be a top priority.
I think most of the American prison system is very broken, so I do not think this facility is exceptional. I do wish that facilities like this one would create more humane conditions, focus on educational and other opportunities that are proven to reduce recidivism rates, and make sure that prisons are not making inmates worse off than when they arrived (which is my opinion).