By KATIEBROWN

Bismarck Tribune

A crime is committed. An arrest is made, and the suspect suddenly has a new home: the Burleigh County Detention Center.

Deputies do not just bring a suspect in and slam the cell door behind them.

"We have a process," Burleigh County Sheriff Steve Berg said. "Booking one individual usually takes close to half an hour."

That process, complete with safety precautions, begins when the patrol car pulls into the jail garage. Before helping the suspect out of the patrol car, the deputy secures any weapons or ammunition he is carrying in a lockbox in the garage.

"We always take precautions," Berg said. "We have to make sure nothing gets brought in."

Upon entering the jail, inmates must turn over all belongings. They are stored in an individual box. Weapons or contraband seized at the time of the arrest are put in the trunk of the patrol car.

By the time an inmate is put in a jail cell, he or she will have been searched at least three times. Suspects are patted down in the field, in the entryway of the jail and later undergo a complete cavity search.

The searches are conducted again any time the inmate leaves the jail for medical appointments or work release.

The detention center has the capacity for 130 inmates. In 2005, 4,500 inmates were booked.

Each day, anywhere from six to 40 people are arrested and booked.

"If the warrants division is out and having a good day, then we may be inundated with more," said Burleigh CountySheriff's Department Sgt. Troy Karlberg, who books prisoners.

The lowest jail population in 2005 was 88 prisoners. The highest was 146. Berg said cots are available to house extra inmates for brief periods.

"A lot of times we're full but not overcrowded," Berg said.

Berg said jail employees take health precautions at all times.

That means wearing plastic gloves to avoid picking up germs. Employees also wear gloves during the booking process to avoid picking up drug residue from an inmate.

Berg said it is important that everyone who goes through the booking process be treated equally.

"We never know what to expect," Berg said. "We may have brought someone for one reason and find they've also broken the law in other ways."

He said it is important to be consistent in the way inmates are treated.

All of the information the booking deputy gets from the inmate is put in the computer system. That includes mug shots, which are taken shortly after an inmate is brought in.

"Everything is digital now," Karlberg said. "They used to have to hold their information up in front of them while we took the photo."

Since the mug shots are digital, they can easily be

e-mailed to other jurisdictions. Lineups also can be created by simply entering information about a suspect. For example, if the suspect is known to be a 5-foot 4-inch woman with brown hair, that information can be typed into the database and will generate photos of all current and prior inmates with that description.

Inmates also are asked if they belong to a gang.

"They are not ashamed to tell us about gang activity," Karlberg said. "Most of them are very proud of it."

Personal information is then taken if the inmate is cooperative and coherent enough. If the inmate is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or is simply not willing to cooperate, he or she is placed in a holding cell until willing or able to complete the booking process.

In-depth medical information is documented with all inmates' safety in mind.

Berg said the medical information is most important.

"We really need to get that right away," he said. "It's more important for the well-being of inmates than even knowing names and addresses."

He said often inmates have a serious medical condition that must be dealt with or are going through drug withdrawals.

All scars and tattoos are documented, as well as if the inmate is right- or left-handed.

"That is important for safely escorting the inmate," Karlberg said. "We want to escort the person on their dominant side because it's safer."

Karlberg said inmates are usually willing to give information without argument.

"They'll admit they've been tweaking on meth for a while or other things like that," Berg said. He said inmates are more likely to admit illegal activity to the booking deputy than to the deputy who arrested them.

After mug shots are taken and information is documented, the inmate is given the jail uniform and taken into a room to change. At that time, a deputy of the inmate's gender will conduct a full cavity search.

"They get creative on bringing things in," Berg said. One man swallowed a balloon with marijuana in it, let it pass through his body and was caught smoking the marijuana that night.

The deputy also takes note of all tattoos, scars, injuries and obvious medical conditions.

The department has a female deputy on call at all times to search women.

Berg said women almost always comprise one-fourth of the prison population.

"I can look at the number of women we have and determine the full amount of prisoners," he said. In the last few years, he said, he has seen more women coming through the system because of meth problems.

The inmate is then finger-printed using a digital system, which quickly scans the fingers and immediately sends a copy to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

"It tells us right away if the prints can be read," Berg said. "Plus, there is no mailing, and it's much quicker than the old process."

Inmates are allowed one free local call or collect call at the time of their arrest. After that, phone cards can be purchased or collect calls made any time between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Inmates also are given bedding and toiletries before being assigned to a cell. Cells house anywhere from two to 10 inmates. If an inmate poses a threat to other inmates, he or she is placed in a cell alone.

When someone is arrested, he or she must appear before a judge within 72 hours to determine probable cause for the arrest and set bond. Berg said that occasionally a judge will be called in on a weekend.

The longest an inmate can be held in the Burleigh CountyDetention Center is one year. Then the inmate must be transferred to another county jail until trial.