Whatcom’s Trauma-Informed Jail Design is a Step In The Right Direction

Whatcom County jail planners are designing a new facility based on the philosophy that one person per cell is best practice. The idea is to create areas in detention where people have the required space that supports their every chance to get better.

According to Whatcom County Corrections, people in jail experience the best outcomes when they have their very own space to breathe, recharge and reflect. People detained in the Whatcom County jail should have the opportunity to use the bathroom in privacy, and attend to their need for sleep, quiet, and reflection in privacy.

Single bunking, the practice of one person per cell, is NOT isolation, restrictive housing, nor solitary confinement. Assuming the new facility will be a “direct supervision model”, detained individuals in single cells have access to community for recreation, meals, and learning.

Single bunking provides the safest, best space possible for individuals to succeed. In 2019, Neha Gill writing for Forbes said, “Trauma-informed design is about integrating the principles of trauma-informed care into design with the goal of creating physical spaces that promote safety, well-being and healing.”

To Whatcom’s jail planners, “trauma-informed design” is not a catchphrase, it’s a guiding principle.

In certain instances, people in detention may do better with a cellmate; Whatcom jail should be ready to accommodate that. Relatedly, should the facility experience a population spike, second bunks could be utilized in some cells to temporarily accommodate this circumstance without having to build an additional 32-bed pod. One of the lessons taken from the COVID-19 global pandemic, is that flexibility is vital, as the future uncertain.