HISTORY

The Northern Nevada Correctional Center is the second oldest major correctional institution in the Department (Nevada State Prison is the oldest). The Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) is a medium security institution, located south of Carson City, Nevada, in the Stewart District.  The property was purchased in 1909 by the Department of Prisons for $25,000, which consisted of 1,100 acres and came with livestock and all out buildings.  NNCC was built on this property in 1964 as a minimum-security prison to house and provide inmate workers for the ranch and Prison Industries. 

Originally, NNCC was called the “minimum-security prison”; the institution was not formally named until the mid 1970's. Three dormitory type housing units (units one through three) each with a capacity of 144 inmates, a gymnasium, school, and a core of service buildings - the kitchen, the laundry, the garage, and the warehouse - were constructed on the south side of the institution. The initial plan envisioned building a mirror image institution on the south side of the service core buildings as the population of the department increased. Until 1974 a correctional captain and a small number of correctional officers supervised the facility.

Housing Unit 3 was not staffed; it was called the honor dorm and a few NDF crewmen lived there. The majority of NDF crewmen then lived at the Spooner Honor Camp at Spooner Summit. A sergeant assigned by the captain supervised the camp.

This camp was closed in the early 1970's and NDF crews worked from the honor dorm in Unit 3 until the first Stewart Conservation Camp was built on the perimeter of the institution. The camp is under the administrative umbrella of the Northern Nevada Correctional Center.  

Like other institutions in the department, the Northern Nevada Correctional Center has been remodeled and added to incrementally on several occasions. An administration building and new visiting room and a fourth housing unit with single cells were added in the mid 1970's. The size of the school building was doubled. In addition, a new warehouse and vocational training building were constructed and the gymnasium enlarged. The perimeter was expanded and a fifth single-cell housing unit was built in the early 1980's and intake was transferred to that unit from the Nevada State Prison. A sixth housing unit for mentally ill inmates was also constructed in the early 1980's and a fifth perimeter tower was constructed on the east side of the institution. In the late 1980's a new kitchen and dining room facility, a regional medical facility, and a seventh housing unit were constructed.

CAPACITY

BEDSPACE & COUNT

Design

Generating

Budgeted

922

1,174

1,223

STAFFING

Custody Staff:

209

Support Services Staff:

42

Total Staff:

251

HOUSING

NNCC houses an average of 1,225 inmates.  Housing includes the following:

• Unit 1, 2, and 4 are general population, medium security units.
• Unit 3 houses medical intermediate care inmates in A-wing and general population inmates in B and C-wing.
• Unit 5 houses an inpatient substance abuse program.
• Unit 6 is a structured care unit for the chronically mentally ill offenders.
• Unit 7A is the reception processing unit and houses inmates placed in administrative segregation.  Unit 7B is transitional housing for inmates pending transfer to other facilities, placement in the general population, or who are in austere housing.
• Unit 8 is the Regional Medical Center (RMF) housing both acute mentally ill inmates (8B) as well as inmates who need intensive medical treatment (8A).

VISITING

Location

Visiting Days

Hours

No Visiting

Notes

General Population

Fri, Sat

8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Sun-Thurs

All general population visitors must sign in prior to 10:15 A.M. for morning visiting.

Unit 5

Sunday

8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Mon-Sat

All Unit 5 population visitors must sign in prior to 10:15 A.M. for morning visiting.

Unit 7B and 7C

Monday - By Appointment Only

8:00 am to 11:00 am

Tues-Sun

All 7B & 7C population visitors must sign in prior to 8:00 A.M.

Unit 7A and Unit 8

Monday - By Appointment Only

11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Tues-Sun

All 7A, 8A, & 8B population visitors must sign in prior to 10:45 A.M.

PROGRAMS

Vocational

• Dental lab technician, auto mechanics, dry cleaning, food service, baking, janitorial, maintenance, yard labor crews, landscaping, laundry, office technology, furniture manufacturing, upholstery and metal fabrication are available. 
• Inmates are also employed by Vinyl Products Incorporated, which in 1983 moved a significant part of its mattress manufacturing process into the institution.  Under the provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, in 1985 the Department of Justice gave Nevada the first statewide certification to employ inmates in any private sector program the department deemed appropriate. This was the first such comprehensive certification granted in the nation.

Academic

• The Carson City School District provides Adult Basic Education, High School/GED, Literacy and ESL. 
• Western Nevada Community College provides college courses for two-year degree programs.

Substance Abuse Treatment Program

Willing Inmates in Nevada Gaining Sobriety (WINGS) is a joint venture between the Nevada Department of Corrections and the Vitality Center to provide substance abuse treatment to Nevada inmates.  The treatment service provided is devoted to offender’s:

1.   Recovery from substance abuse.

2.   Rehabilitation from criminal behavior.

3.   Reintegration into society as productive members.

The administration of the WINGS Therapeutic Community (TC) is the responsibility of both NDOC and Vitality Center.  Warden Don Helling and the WINGS Program Manager Judith Ricketts-Stookey provide direct supervision of the program’s operation.  The Vitality Center staff members working at the WINGS TC come from diverse multidisciplinary backgrounds, i.e., mental health, medical, marriage and family counseling, social work, criminal justice and military.  Additionally, all are licensed/certified substance abuse counselors.  Correctional Officers and other NDOC personnel are assigned to the WINGS TC to insure security and the efficient operation of the prison-based facility.

The WINGS Therapeutic Community is located in Unit Five at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center.  The unit can accommodate 172 inmates.  Offenders selected for treatment in WINGS must be within fourteen months of probable release from prison and have a desire to make positive changes in their attitude and behavior.  Candidates for admission to WINGS must go through a three-stage assessment process.

Program participants are housed separately from general population prison inmates.  For a nine to twelve month period, offenders live in a therapeutic community environment, designed to be conducive to behavioral change.  The WINGS Therapeutic Community, working in cooperation with the Nevada Department of Corrections and the Division of Parole and Probation, also assists offenders in both their preparation for re-entry and their transition into society.

In 2004, 94 inmates have successfully completed treatment in the WINGS Therapeutic Community.  The program is authorized by NRS 209.4231 – 209.4244 and funded by a grant from the Criminal Justice Department for Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT). 

Other Programs

• Nearly 40 different religious and secular programs are offered. 
• Programs include religious services for a variety of faiths.
• Group meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous.
• Street Readiness, Anger Management and Communication Skills Class are offered.
• Individual counseling sessions are available. 
• Hobby Craft is also offered where inmates can work on leather craft, sewing, art work, beadwork, counted cross stitch, crochet, and macramé.
• A variety of athletic activities are available for inmate participation.

RACE FOR THE CURE WALK/RUN

Since October 2000, the inmates at NNCC look forward to the annual Race For The Cure Walk/Run.  Inmates at NNCC and other local facilities have become the only male institutions to participate in this event simultaneously with the event held nationwide to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to increase awareness and to fund research to find a cure for breast cancer.  Inmates, along with contributions from their family members, friends and staff sponsors, have raised over $19,000.  The inmates feel especially proud to be able to contribute to a good cause and give something back to the community.

YARD BEAUTIFICATION

NNCC inmate gardens provide a valuable service by naturalizing the mostly concrete facility.   With  limited  resources,  they have done a professional job of decreasing the amount of dust and dirt areas in NNCC.

NNCC FISH POND

Completed in August 2001, SCC inmates responsible for the NNCC perimeter grounds, have developed a small fishpond outside the entrance to  the NNCC Administrative building.

The pond contains both goldfish and blue gill fish, and was recently enlarged and given a natural boarder.

NNCC MURALS

Many staff purchased painting materials for the inmates to paint murals on their housing unit walls and in other areas of the institution.