Criminal Justice
CCS is experienced in working with state and local governments on significant projects and understands the particularities of the criminal justice sector.
We work directly with consultants, planners, architects and engineers to make sure our government agency clients get the very best results. We support our clients with technical expertise and functions while assembling the right team for design and construction.
We’re experts in validating the design and budget forecasting. We have experts with the required certifications to work on projects for federal, state and local governments. We help criminal justice clients get the most out of their investment dollars while ensuring projects stay on track to become operational on day one. Over the course of this work, CCS keeps stakeholders informed to demonstrate both ongoing and long-term value.
Highlights
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90 correctional facilities with an estimated value of $3.5 billion
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120 courthouses with an estimated value of $1.9 billion
Our process
Expertise and optimization
CCS can support state and local governments with technical expertise and in assembling the right project team. We facilitate construction management and general contractor selection, identify the right subcontractors and consultants, and utilize deep knowledge of the local market through our own team of knowledgeable experts, who are skilled in every facet of the design and construction process. We have experts with the required certifications to work on projects for the criminal justice sector.
Design and budget validation
Beginning with pre-design, CCS ensures that design for criminal justice projects is future-proofed to meet the long-term goals of the agencies. Our collaborative method includes feasibility studies, design evaluation, review, construction management selection and accurate total project budgeting.
We assist decision-makers with budget estimates and advise stakeholders on cost and constructability. We help determine the best method of project delivery, drawing on our deep familiarity with the costs, risks, timeline, and contractual aspects of the procurement process. CCS has the capability, software, and documentation to format the cost estimates to the systems used by state and local agencies.
Project phasing
Courts, jails, and prisons must remain operational during capital projects, so project phasing is crucial in new construction, expansions, or adaptive-reuse projects. The CCS difference is our upfront planning to minimize change orders.
And CCS can create an operational plan to address shortages or delays in the availability of labor or materials. Furthermore, we have experts in the latest methodologies including LEAN and Agile, which we can apply to optimize resources and maximize value throughout the process.
Maximizing value
CCS shepherds criminal justice projects from beginning to end. We validate estimates against contractor costs. We value engineer throughout the design and construction process to give institutions at the federal, state and local levels the most for their dollar.
We look at long-term value and perform life cycle analysis, which may justify investing in more expensive, longer lasting materials and finishes that deliver a better user experience.
Information sharing
We’re expert communicators, too. Criminal justice projects are of keen interest to the public and can be politically sensitive. CCS helps clients manage sustainability requirements and ensures they’re getting value from their Architecture, Engineering and Construction management team.
We have experts with the formal certifications, including LEED and Energy Star, required to navigate government regulatory requirements. CCS rebalances information sharing during design and construction and manages monthly reporting. CCS can handle regular progress reporting from the field for review by state and local authorities.
Public engagement
Criminal justice projects require varying levels of transparency and confidentiality. CCS has experience with ensuring clear communication on design, budget, and progress for state and local projects while maintaining security. CCS can manage engagement and information sharing amongst parties throughout the process. When appropriate, we can present projects to the public and media and report on progress to the appropriate stakeholders along the way.
CCS is committed to staying current on all the developments and dialogues that are affecting the criminal justice sector. This is critical so that we raise any issues that may affect a project’s design or cost in a timely manner so that both the Owner & A/E teams are able to effectively respond.
Criminal Justice sector background & challenges
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Since the 1970s, incarceration rates in the United States have increased, peaking in 2007. Today most American detainees (60%) are held in state prisons. Local governments spend $25 billion annually to operate more than 3,000 jails nationwide.
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Many jails and prisons are due for replacement or upgrade. This represents an opportunity for implementing new approaches that can enhance safety and security, and even introduce the possibility of reform. States are already experimenting with places that shake up the old institutional model.
Using environmental and behavioral psychology, data-driven designs that incorporate light, sound, air quality, and texture are being explored as support for education and reform. These places may look more like a community college campus with open walking paths. Taking lessons from person-centered healthcare design, these incarceration facilities are oriented toward promoting growth—emotional, intellectual, professional, etc–which can help inmates turn over a new leaf when they’re on the outside. Taken even further, some concepts even resemble towns to help inmates resocialize and include job training programs, etc.
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In light of the growth of online work, courtrooms are embracing technological change. We’ll see courtrooms sized for juries with room for social distancing, but we’ll also see smaller, tech-equipped courtrooms that are set up for virtual proceedings. Both types will be sites for enhanced smart security features that will be more powerful, but less intrusive than what we’ve seen before.
Since the 1970s, incarceration rates in the United States have increased, peaking in 2007. Today most American detainees (60%) are held in state prisons. Local governments spend $25 billion annually to operate more than 3,000 jails nationwide.
Many jails and prisons are due for replacement or upgrade. This represents an opportunity for implementing new approaches that can enhance safety and security, and even introduce the possibility of reform. States are already experimenting with places that shake up the old institutional model.
Using environmental and behavioral psychology, data-driven designs that incorporate light, sound, air quality, and texture are being explored as support for education and reform. These places may look more like a community college campus with open walking paths. Taking lessons from person-centered healthcare design, these incarceration facilities are oriented toward promoting growth—emotional, intellectual, professional, etc–which can help inmates turn over a new leaf when they’re on the outside. Taken even further, some concepts even resemble towns to help inmates resocialize and include job training programs, etc.
In light of the growth of online work, courtrooms are embracing technological change. We’ll see courtrooms sized for juries with room for social distancing, but we’ll also see smaller, tech-equipped courtrooms that are set up for virtual proceedings. Both types will be sites for enhanced smart security features that will be more powerful, but less intrusive than what we’ve seen before.
