Utah State Correctional Facility

Utah State Correctional Facility (USCF) is one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corrections' Division of Prison Operations.^[1] It is located in the northwestern corner of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It replaced the former Utah State Prison in July 2022.

Description

The new 1.3-million sq ft (120-thousand m²), $1 billion facility is located at 1480 North 8000 West^[2] on 170 acres (69 ha) north of Interstate 80, but is barely visible from the freeway.^[3]

The large prison complex houses both male and female prisoners in separate facilities. These facilities range from minimum security to supermax. Upon opening, 2,464 inmates were transferred from the former Utah State Prison.^[3] The Bear Facility houses men's general population, the Antelope Facility houses restricted men's population, the Currant Facility houses men's geriatric and mental health population, and the Dell Facility houses female inmates.^[4]

History

The former Utah State Prison was built in Draper in 1951. Since the former prison's erection, business parks and residential neighborhoods have developed the once rural area into a suburban one. Seeking the ability to offer better treatment options, the state legislature initiated a process to build a new prison, deciding it was best to relocate elsewhere. A study was completed in 2005 by Wikstrom Economic & Planning Consultants to determine if moving the prison would be feasible. The test of feasibility was whether or not the value of the real estate of the current location could support the cost of relocation. It was determined that the cost of relocating the prison far exceeded the value that could be realized from the sale of the Draper prison site.^[5] However, on August 19, 2015, a special session of the state legislature voted to move the prison to the northwest side of Salt Lake City.^[6]

The new facility was completed and the inmates from the former prison were transferred July 11–15, 2022.^[3] The former prison officially closed July 15, 2022.

Notable Inmates

• Jodi Hildebrandt - Sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, which could range from 1 to 15 Years each for child abuse.^[7][8]
• Ruby Franke - Sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, which could range from 1 to 15 years each for child abuse.^[9][10]
• Megan Huntsman

See also

1. ^ "Utah Department of Corrections Facilities". Utah Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
2. ^ "Contact Us". Utah Department of Corrections. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Cortez, Marjorie (July 15, 2022). "What did it take to safely transfer 2,464 inmates to Utah's new prison?". Salt Lake City: KSL-TV. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
4. ^ USCF Video Tour. Utah Department of Corrections. June 8, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022 – via YouTube.
5. ^ Wikstrom Economic & Planning Consultants (2005). Evaluation of the Feasibility of Relocating the Utah State Prison. Wikstrom Economic & Planning Consultants.
6. ^ Winsolow, Ben (August 19, 2015). "Utah State Legislature votes to move prison to SLC". Retrieved August 20, 2015.
7. ^ Breen, Kerry (2024-02-20). "Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in child abuse case - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
8. ^ "Offender Search". Utah Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
9. ^ Breen, Kerry (2024-02-20). "Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in child abuse case - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
10. ^ https://corrections.utah.gov/offender-search/