Washington Corrections Center

Washington Corrections Center (WCC)

Overhead view of Washington Corrections Center
Location in Washington
Location	Shelton
Coordinates	47°14′13″N123°11′35″W / 47.23694°N 123.19306°W / 47.23694; -123.19306
Status	Operational
Security class	Minimum, Medium, Close, Maximum
Capacity	1,268
Opened	1964
Managed by	Washington State Department of Corrections
Director	Dean Mason, Superintendent
Street address	2321 West Dayton Airport Rd.
City	Shelton
County	Mason County
State/province	Washington
Postal code	P. O. Box 900
Country	United States
Website	www.doc.wa.gov/corrections/incarceration/prisons/wcc.htm

Washington Corrections Center is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Shelton, Washington. ^[1] With an operating capacity of 1,300, it is the sixth largest prison in the state (after Stafford Creek Corrections Center) and is surrounded by forestland. It opened in 1964, seventy-five years after statehood. ^[2]

Washington Corrections Center is located at 2321 W Dayton Airport Rd.

Facilities and Programs

Washington Corrections Center facilitates Educational and Offender Change programs, Work and Vocational programs, and Sustainability programs.

• Educational and Offender Change programs include: GED programs, Computer basics programs, and a prison library. ^[1] their intent is to teach incarcerated new skills, and help them to transition into the outside world.
• Work and Vocational programs include: groundskeeping and vehicle maintenance, ^[1] these are how prisoners earn prison salaries or commissary.
• Sustainability programs include: Composting, and Vegetable Gardens. ^[1] Their intent is to allow prisoners to practice skills learned in prison, and make the prison self-sustaining.

Organization

Washington Corrections Center is located on a 400-acre campus in Shelton, Washington. ^[3] On campus, there is 9 housing units by the names of:

• Cedar
• Evergreen
• Pine
• R-1
• R-2
• R-3
• R-4
• R-5
• IMU

These vary from minimum to maximum security. ^[4]

History

North side viewed from SR 102

Washington Corrections Center was opened 61 years ago in 1964, making it the 5th oldest prison in Washington state. ^[1] All prisoners entering the Washington State Prison System must pass through Washington Corrections Center in order to be classified and assigned to a permanent residential prison. ^[5] In 2014, two prisoners at Washington Corrections Center committed successful suicides, leading the Washington State Department of Corrections to reform their official policy on suicides. ^[6] In September 2015, Washington Corrections Center became the second prison (after Snake River Correctional Institution in Oregon) ^[7] to install a "Blueroom" inside of solitary confinement to play nature videos for prisoners. ^[8]

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in Washington (state)
• List of United States state correction agencies
• List of U.S. state prisons
• List of Washington state prisons

References

1. "Washington Corrections Center (WCC) | WACorrections". doc.wa.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
2. "Washington Corrections Center Visiting hours, inmate phones, mail". prisonpro.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
3. "Washington Correctional Center Campus Map". google.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
4. "Washington Corrections Center Visiting hours, inmate phones, mail". prisonpro.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
5. "Welcome to prison -- inside Washington Corrections Center - seattlepi.com". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
6. "2 Prisoners Mistakenly Released Early Now Charged In Killings : NPR". npr.org. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
7. "Oregon prison tackles solitary confinement with Blue Room experiment | OregonLive.com". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
8. "Washington prison mimicking Oregon program showing nature videos to solitary prisoners | OregonLive.com". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.