Why is a Prescott Criminal Justice Center necessary?

A 2016 study of Yavapai County’s jail system (Chinn Study, 2016) found Yavapai County needs a new Justice Center in the Prescott area because:

• The County’s Camp Verde jail is at maximum capacity.
• 65% of the arrests in the county occur in the Prescott area.
• Inmates have the right to be tried in the community where taken into custody.
• Transporting dozens of inmates daily from Camp Verde to Prescott is costing the citizens of Yavapai County over two million dollars ($2,000,000) every year.
• Transporting large numbers of inmates in and out of the Prescott Courthouse for routine hearings represents a major safety and security risk for detention personnel, court personnel, and inmates.

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Where is the new Prescott Criminal Justice Facility going to be located?

The County is placing the new Prescott Criminal Justice Center at their Prescott Lakes Parkway property adjacent to the existing Yavapai County Juvenile Justice Center. This property was acquired by the City of Prescott and Yavapai County in the early 1990’s to site a regional landfill and a planned regional connector road (Prescott Lakes Parkway). In 2003 the Board of Supervisors began discussing the need for a new Prescott Criminal Justice Center and recommended using the Prescott Lakes Parkway property. Yavapai County and the City of Prescott worked together over several years regarding an exchange of land ownership, and in 2007 the City traded their interest in the property to gain ownership of the County owned rodeo grounds in Prescott.

What services will be located at the new Prescott Criminal Justice Facility?

The Prescott Criminal Justice Center will be an approximately 106,000 square foot facility and will include:

• A 152-bed adult detention facility.
• Two (2) courtrooms for on-site court proceedings that will significantly reduce transportation to the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott.
• Supporting services including administration, medical, food service, laundry and building services.
• A co-located non-custodial mental health facility.

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Criminal Justice Center Timeline

Early 1990’s PROPERTY NEXT TO REGIONAL LANDFILL TARGETED FOR JUSTICE CENTER

The City of Prescott and Yavapai County acquire property in the vicinity of regional landfill and waste-water treatment plant for future criminal justice complex, serviced by a regional connector road (Prescott Lakes Parkway).

1997 – 2003 CRIPA INVESTIGATION FINDS SERIOUS DEFICIENCIES IN YAVAPAI COUNTY JAIL

After a serious riot in the Gurley St. jail, the ACLU files a complaint against Yavapai County with the Department of Justice alleging unsafe conditions and overcrowding in Gurley St. jail under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (“CRIPA”)

1998 – 1999 JAIL DISTRICT AND JAIL DISTRICT SALES TAX APPROVED

Voters approved both the formation of the Jail District and a ¼ cent per dollar sales tax for 20 years, to expire on June 30, 2020.

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