Arlington County Detention

I’m in for 4 weekends over a speeding charge double speed limit on 66 at 3am no cars around but a fresh of the academy youngster state trooper (Adam Hassan) you don’t want to be pulled over by this speeding ticket junkie all his tickets during court were for speeding or reckless driving. Decided I didn’t want to spend an extra 3k In fees for a trial by jury to get me out of jail so took a plea bargain with the prosecutor.
(Do not speed in Virginia. get a radar detector even if they are illegal)
Anyway,
The intake process takes way too long. Checked in at 9pm sharp and didn’t get put into my cell till 12:30am.
The food is terrible. High in calories absolutely no nutritional value. Virginias nutrition council should be ashamed and should all spend a day in jail for that junk that passes for food for them to change it. I ended up drinking water and juice during my stay and gave the rest to my cell mate who also hated it and didn’t eat it. You do get 2 hours «break» time. In the 5c holding area; there are no tv’s or enough lifting equipment as in general population. This should be changed since you get less liberties in 5c then in gen pop. 5C block is a mandatory 22 hour lock down.
The beds suck and are beds of steel. I didn’t dare take a shower in there. Everyone used their box lid or chair to not step on the floor of the public bathroom not doing so is asking to get athletes foot.
The sheriffs were nice to me but did take certain dislike to certain people for no reason at all. Overall many of the people there were for weed possession and those who got hard time were in for same but after breaking probation their sentence was extended. Something absolutely dumb to be spending so much money over weed possession. Overall the system needs a complete over haul starting with gov terry mcauliffe who bought his way into office and slandered cuccinelli.
Edit: after 4 weekends I can provide a more thorough review. C. M Scott aka «ward 8» needs training as to how to talk and deal with people. He made a scene out of a simple yes or no question. Sherifs tend to instead of defusing a situation instigate and make matters worse. Had this issue with a sherif wearing glasses in 5c as well. Also van hettinga conducted an illegal strip search on sept 26.2015. See Logan v. Shealy, 660 F.2d 1007 (4^th Cir. 1981). If any lawyers are reading this please contact me as I have several witnesses that can testify for suit and will reach out to the ACLU separately. Additionally a muslim woman rights to observe her religion was not seen as important by the sherifs and relieved of her burqa by force and a gang of 4 MALE sherif officers. They couldn’t have at least made the female officers do it for the sake of mugshot. Overall the entire jail is up for an inspector general audit.

Ok I’ve been back for a return visit, albeit on the command of the less than pleasant judge. I was here for a 2 day stay and I have to say the service here has dramatically changed. The staff was polite but still managed to control the crowd admirably. The food and food service has a lot to be desired. They have very poor portions and only provide 1 plastic spoon for the duration of your stay. This being said you can made a good spoon using a milk carton if you happen to toss out your spoon by mistake as I did. The check in and check out process is tedious and overly long, however the actual stay is comfortable and pleasant with two hours daily «rec» or recreational time outside of your assigned cell. Even within your cell the time flies by because we are provided with a good selection of books, however I was only there for 2 days and read 2 books if I was there any longer I would get into all the Jesus books and well Jesus that would suck. Ok so they need to improve the library a bit. That being said I almost asked for a couple of extra days I haven’t been able to catch up on my reading like that in YEARS!

My experience wasn’t as glowing as Windi’s, but I wasn’t in the detention center, only the drunk tank.
I have little recollection of getting there. I remember going to a bar that featured a specialty shot list. The list was 20 deep, and I was determined to make it through. My last memory was shot 14. My next one was waking up. It wasn’t the concrete floor that served as my mattress that caused me to wake, nor was it my shoe that substituted as my pillow. It was the horrific smell. As the scent tickled my nose, I slowly turned my head to the source. One of my cellmates was happily defecating about ten feet from me. Not the best way to start your morning.
I don’t remember the exact dimensions, but the tank was not very large. Inside there was a phone, a wooden bench, a sink, and the toilet. There was no privacy for the bathroom. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to stay long inside the tank. My name was called, and I went to get fingerprinted, photographed, and sign some paperwork. I thought I was getting out, but I was just transferred to another holding area so I could finish sobering up.
The holding area were just rows of chairs, but at least the floor was a thin carpet. The officers were also nice enough to provide blankets. I slept for a few more hours. I woke up to lunch being served. Lunch consisted of a sandwich that had three slices of bread, and two pieces of bologna. The officer jokingly called it a Big Mac. The side dishes were a sealed fruit cup, and some vanilla wafers. To drink we were served a pink of milk. Not a bad meal.
It was a Sunday, and the officers were nice enough to let us watch the Redskins game. Most of the officers were taking breaks every five minutes to watch it with us. By the time my name was called, I didn’t want to leave, because Rex Grossman had just hit Santana Moss for a TD, and they were attempting a two point conversion for the tie.
Overall, I stayed about sixteen hours. Points for the leniency of the officers, and the Redskins game. Points deducted for subjecting me to that awful image and smell that have been seared into my brain. I suggest building a door, so inmates can use the bathroom in peace. Other than that, I have no complaints.

So I’m sitting with Ben M. and during a conversation over a Spicy Chicken Sandwich, we look out the window and see the po’lice taking down some popped collar criminals out in Clarendon. Tracey C. enters the conversation, too, mentioning they should be happy they didn’t end up in DC lockup. I told them I agree and that of the two times I have been detained by the po’lice, Arlington County Courthouse was pretty nice! So, at the request of Ben M., Tracey C., and Tina’s Mate (not sure if I’m allowed to say his name) — here is my review of my short stay at the Arlington County Detention Center:
After being taken in, I was greeted by a friendly male officer who asked me a series of questions. At no time did the officer violate any of my constitutional privileges and even gave me a juice box after I said I was thirsty. Yes, you heard right, they have juice boxes!
The detention center is broken up into different areas and initially I just sat in a chair for about an hour or so. While I sat, people would walk by and smile. Except the lady officers — they just scowled. I didn’t have to go into a holding area for reasons unbeknown to me but at one point I was escorted back there to sit outside of it in yet another chair and instead of being handcuffed to a bar, they just kept my hands in front of me (must more comfortable!). Looking inside of the holding area, it was very sterile. No graffiti on the walls, no piss on the ground… It is very clean environment. The officers do a good job of keeping it safe from MRSA. There are signs everywhere reminding people to wear gloves and wash their hands. Every time I moved chairs, someone put purell on my hands. I came in with a small cut on my knee which was treated immediately with some generic neo-​sporin and covered with a bandage ten times the side of the wound. This was important, I supposed, to keep off infection. The medical officer was pretty nice and he chuckled when I asked for a barbie band aide instead of gauze. He said they ran out yesterday. So humorous…
Everyone was really nice to me except I had to pee one time and it took someone a while to escort me to the bathroom. They really need more female officers. Once I was released (no arraignment, this isn’t Law and Order, people), a police officer drove me home and he even let me sit in the front seat!
Other areas where they can improve:
Put the handcuff bar lower. My shoulder was hurting for days due to the awkward angle they are positioned
Make up your mind where you want to keep me. I would have preferred the holding area over the handcuff chair so I could have slept better
More variety of juice boxes. All they had was grape.
So, if you’re going to get arrested, do it in Arlington County. And remember, you have the right to remain silent so do yourself a favor and STFU. Be really nice to the officers here but don’t be overly chatty. Just smile and be polite and your stay will go smoother. Some people there were screaming «I WANT MY LAWYER» and «I’LL HAVE YOUR BADGE» but they were in the holding area or being transferred to the other side where the jail is. I was nice and got a chair. Do the math.