In the game of Monopoly, if a player is sent to jail, their token is transported across the board to the Jail until they pay a fine or obtain a Get Out of Jail Free Card. They then rejoin the other players enjoying the fruits of their spoils buying property and growing their empire. Unlike the popular board game however, the jail in our local “board” of East Orlando houses criminals that committed crimes ranging from fraud to assault and battery, to kidnapping and murder – without the luxury of a powerful card to free them.

The Central Florida Reception Center (CFRC), located ten miles east of the Orlando International Airport on the Beachline, opened in August of 1988 originally as a close custody, adult male, program oriented institution. Before it was fully functional, it was changed to a reception center. The Bridges of Orlando Work Release Center, Kissimmee Work Release Center, Orlando Transition Center, Orlando Work Release Center and The Transition House, Inc. are all under the supervision of CFRC.

According to J. D. Wainwright, warden of CFRC, the facility is one of four male reception centers operated by the Florida Department of Corrections. Once a person is sentenced to a state prison term, county sheriff officials transport the inmate to a reception center where they usually stay for four to six weeks before going to a more permanent institution. Reception centers like CFRC assess inmates to determine health, security and various other inmate needs.

The CFRC currently houses more than 1,600 inmates with a staff of 470. The CFRC consists of three Units: Main, East and South. The primary mission of the Main Unit is the reception and orientation of inmates from 24 Florida counties newly sentenced to the state correctional system. The East Unit houses Department of Transportation (DOT) work squads and functions as a staging unit for inmates who have completed reception and orientation processing. The South Unit is designated as a palliative care facility designated to house end-of-life/special needs inmates who have met specific criteria.

As a public sector responsibility, most states require counties to either operate a jail or house their prisoners in other local government facilities. The location of a jail or similar facility is sometimes controversial, but steps are taken to tactically place a facility for the good of all. “CFRC is strategically located so Central Florida jails and sheriff’s departments can transport inmates into department custody,” says Wainwright. “There are no issues with the location.”

Safety and security, both for the public and within the institution, is typically at the core of a jail’s mission. Unlike most state and federal prisons, local jails must achieve this in lieu of diverse inmate populations. Limited resources and the courts’ ongoing ambition to protect inmates’ rights further complicate risk management within local jails. “CFRC has always had an excellent safety and security record [still] we continuously look for ways to upgrade our safety and security,” says Wainwright. “We work to be good community neighbors providing low custody inmate work squads supervised by Correctional Staff to assist with public projects and canine teams (Bloodhounds) for use by local law enforcement when requested. Public Safety is one of our top priorities.”

Wainwright notes that there are no future plans for expansion of the CFRC and that the current funding cuts at the state level may or may not affect the facility. “The legislature is still in session. It’s too early to know what, if any, cuts would impact us.”

Article by Johnny Duncan