An officer’s voice crackles over the PA system: “Count time!”
The announcement triggers a prison-wide movement across Miami’s Everglades Correctional Institution. In the dormitory, residents return to their living areas. In the education building, residents file out the front door and form into lines based on where in the facility they live. In the visitation park, residents kiss, hug or squeeze the hands of loved ones before filing outside to join their respective lines.
Count is essentially roll call, a classic prison security protocol meant to ensure everyone is where they’re supposed to be. It’s called four to five times during daytime hours, depending on the season. During daytime counts, all residents are counted where they are — on their bunks, at the visitation park, in the education building and so on. During the master roster count at 10 p.m., all residents are in their dormitories and on their bunks. They are required to be present.
Most count times “clear” within 30 minutes, once the correct number of people are tallied. But if the numbers don’t tally, a recount is called. This can repeat several times, sometimes for up to two hours, before a special master roster count is called. During a special master roster count, all residents are recalled to their dormitories because of some kind of issue with the count that has not been resolved through several recounts, usually after 2 hours of trying.
To better understand how count affects different people in my prison, I interviewed several incarcerated people and prison volunteers.
Class interruption
Geo Group is a private company that offers self-improvement classes throughout Florida’s prison system. Antonio Warren, an incarcerated Geo facilitator, expressed concern that class participants were not getting the necessary hours to graduate. Participants have specific hour requirements set by the state.
Afternoon Geo classes are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., and often the midday count does not clear until 1:30 p.m. Movement between the dorms and education building generally occurs on the hour, so classes may not begin until 2 p.m., an hour after their scheduled start.
To meet the time requirements, two lessons must sometimes be crammed into a single class period. Warren said it’s even worse when counts extend to 2:30 p.m. In those instances, many students don’t feel like they need to show up for their class at all. Warren called count a burden.
“Count times impact the flow of information in class,” he said.
Library hours restricted
The library must be accessible to residents for 25 hours per week, per state policy. Resident law librarian Tobias Rolle said count time delays people’s arrival to the library and cuts into the hours they can spend there.
But extended count times can be positive for some, including residents facing down legal deadlines. If someone is on a legal deadline, they can spend more time in the library, potentially spanning a count time. If the count is prolonged, they potentially receive more time to work.
“For deadlines, it doesn’t impact them,” Rolle said. “It’s actually very beneficial, because they’re allowed to count inside the library.”
Because of the complex counts and extended, unexpected counts introduced to residents seeking judicial relief, the library supervisor has added an additional two hours per week for residents to help them get closer to 25 hours, or potentially even 27 hours.
A lesson disturbed
Michael Smith has taken classes through Miami Dade College at our prison. Students are not allowed to stay in class while count takes place, even during lectures or tests, he said. Being pulled away from a test is a major distraction.
Still, there are positives in Smith’s mind.
“The teachers get to experience the hindrance,” he said. “They get to stand up there and see the procedure.”
That awareness can change how teachers think about their students’ resilience in the face of non-traditional learning.
Charlie Gibbs is an incarcerated teaching assistant in the adult basic education classroom. Students attend his class in different time slots, but the midday count is disruptive.
“We try to make sure we end whatever we’re working on so we’re not caught in the middle of a sentence,” he said.
It doesn’t always work out, and getting students back on track following count can be a challenge. But he said count time can be a helpful break after hours of hard work.
“It can give students a chance to regroup their thoughts.”
My experience
I’ve experienced count time in the dormitory, the education building and during visitation with my family. It’s disruptive and frustrating. I’ve been pulled out of the limited face-to-face time I have with my mom.
But count isn’t going anywhere. Like so much of the prison experience, there are two real paths here: become upset and complain, or deal with it.
We can adapt. We can cleverly choose classes that generally start after being counted. We can ensure volunteers are aware of the count schedule so they can be prepared. We don’t get to choose how count time will interrupt our lives, but we do get to choose how we respond to it.