Christopher Guess
MAXIMUM SECURITY CELL The Dane County jail's maximum security wing, housed on the sixth and seventh floors of the City-County Building at 115 W. Doty St., holds 350 inmates.The cellblocks, built in 1956, are run by the Dane County Sheriff's Office. The
This photo essay is the result of a three-month attempt to gain access to areas of Dane County that most people have never seen. Most of these places receive public funding and yet restrict access to taxpayers. The people in charge were usually baffled about why we wanted to photograph their facilities. The answer: We hope to shine a light on places that are behind closed doors and electronic locks, but have a significant effect on local life.
DETOX CENTER The Dane County Detox Center, 2914 Industrial Dr., is not a place you want to wake up in after a riotous evening. And at $383 a night (or more - the center has the legal authority to hold you for up to 72 hours), it could end up being much more expensive than a suite at an upper-crust hotel. Despite the cost, though, the facility, run under a $974,000 contract by Tellurian, is full almost every weekend; the overflow is shipped to a local hospital.
In addition to regular beds, where people can sleep it off under supervision, there are the beds shown in the photograph (right). These are reserved for violent or uncooperative patients. If people become confrontational they are strapped down in individual steel-doored rooms. One door has a big dent from someone repeatedly ramming the bed against it in a drunken rage. Click Gallery above to continue.
Access denied
Dane County Airport Control Tower
The airport forwarded our request to the Federal Aviation Administration, which denied it, citing increased security since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Madison Police Department weapons cache
Each precinct has a room where weapons are stored, everything from assault rifles to shotguns. We talked to the public relations officer once, then he stopped returning messages.