Report: Analysis of the Nathaniel J. Neal Prison Facility in Texas

This report provides an overview of the Nathaniel J. Neal Unit, a state prison located in Amarillo, Texas, owned and operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The facility, opened in 1994, houses male inmates and spans 592 acres with a capacity of 1,732 offenders. The report details the physical design, including housing units, security measures, and staffing hierarchy, encompassing various employee categories from security to medical staff. Available programs include vocational training, educational courses, and support groups, all aimed at facilitating inmates' transition back into society. The report also outlines the privileges offered to inmates and the yearly budget allocated to the facility, which is approximately $80 billion, with an estimated necessary budget of $7,141 million as per the FY 2019 budget. The report references several sources to support its findings, providing a comprehensive look at the facility's structure, operations, and resources.

N A M E O F S T U D E N T
N A M E O F U N I V E R S I T Y
A U T H O R N O T E
Prison Facility

The Facility
•The Nathaniel J. Neal Unit is
a state prison located in Texas
•It is owned and operated by
Texas department of Criminal
Justice
•The facility was opened in
December 1994
•The facility is seen to be
housing only male inmates

Location
•The Facility is
seen to be
located in
Amarillo,
Potter County,
Texas
•It is adjacent
to the
Clements Unit
The Facility
(Contd.)

Type of Facility
•The facility that has been selected
is a prison facility.
• A prison, jail or correctional
facility can be described as a
facility where the inmates are
confined forcibly and denied
certain freedoms under the state
authority (McGeever, 2019)
Size
•The facility is located on 592
acres of land.
•It has a capacity of holding 1732
offenders (Dolovich, 2018).
• the facility has six housing areas
•J1 is 30,900 sq ft two story
building with capacity of 260
inmates
•J2, J3 and J4 is each a 30,900 sq
ft two story building with
capacity of holding 260 inmates
each
•J5 is 36,768 sq ft building with
the capacity of 358 inmates
•J6 is a 36,768 sq ft two story
building with the capacity to hold
The Facility (Contd.)

Design
•The facility is a
minimum/medium unit with
capacity of 1,732 offenders
• The buildings J1, J2, J3 and J4
in the housing areas are
constructed of steel, concrete
and stucco. J5 and J6 are
constructed of metal
•There are two three story
picket towers of steel concrete
and stucco
•There is a 12 ft perimeter
fence that is topped with six
strands of barbed wire
reinforced with razor wires
The Facility
(Contd.)

•Each building has an officer
station and three wings
•In each wing there are six
showers with one public toilet
•In J1 building each cell has its
own toilet
•The J5 and J6 have cubicle
style dormitories having four
wings with gymnasium, control
picket, barber shop, officers’
restroom and each wing has
ample facilities of shower and
bathroom.
•The J5 building has a safety
office, chemical issue room,
laundry storage area, weight
room
•The J6 building has a
necessities storage area
Design (Contd.)
The Facility (Contd.)

Staffing
Staffing categories
The staff in the
Facility are
employed in the
following
categories:
•Security
employees
•Non-security
employees
•Windham
Education
Employees
•Contract Medical
Necessary Manpower
•In the facility a total of 383
employees are currently working
•268 security employees are
present
•77 non-security employees work
in the facility
•Education employees present are
11 in number
•There are 21 medical and 6
mental health employees working
there.

Staffing (Contd.)
Staff Hierarchy
The prison is seen to be following
the staff hierarchy in the following
way
•Correctional officer
•Senior officer
•Senior officer specialist
•Grade 9 lieutenant
•Grade 11 lieutenant
•Deputy captain
•Captain
•Associate wardens
•Warden

Resources
Types of Programs Available
The programs that are available in
the facility are
•Carpentry
•Electrical trade
•culinary arts,
•adult basic education
•literacy and GED courses
•Sex Offender Treatment Program
•Substance Abuse Education
•Support groups such as Alcoholics
and Narcotics Anonymous
• Religious And Faith Based
Programs (Cai, 2019)
Privileges
AvailableThe privileges
available to the
inmates are-
•A regular, routine life
•Wider range of
programs
•Better facilities
•Better food
• Visitations (Hutton,
2017)

Resources (Contd.)
Correctional Goals Met Through Resources
The goals that have been met through these resources
are to ensure that the inmates are allowed to be having
easier transition in the society.

Budget
Allocated Necessary Yearly Budget
The budget
allocated to the
facility is
approximately$80
billion per year.
The estimate necessary yearly
buddget of the facility is
approximately $7,141 million as
per the FY 2019 budget
(Luallen, Gaes & Cutler, 2019).

Reference
Cai, J., Ruhil, A. V., & Gut, D. M. (2019). Prison-based
Education: Programs, participation and proficiency in
literacy/numeracy. Washington, DC: Program for the
International Assessment of Adult Competencies Gateway.
Dolovich, S. (2018). Prison conditions.
Hutton, M. A. (2017). Prison visits and desistance: A
human rights perspective. In New Perspectives on
Desistance (pp. 187-209). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Luallen, J., Gaes, G., & Cutler, C. (2019). Estimating prison
stays among current prison populations. Criminal Justice
Review, 44(2), 119-147.
McGeever, K. (2019). Correctional Facility Establishments
and Neighborhood Housing Characteristics. Sociological
Perspectives, 62(3), 383-401.