FARMINGTON — Parents may want to take their children to a correctional facility to scare them into obeying the law.
The reality, however, is that children may find the experience more boring than scary.
Brett Peterson of Layton brought his two boys to the Davis County Jail on Friday night to educate them.
"It was not to scare them at all," he said. "It was more so that they could see."
Residents and public officials were invited to spend the night inside the new jail expansion, which will house 400 inmates. The expansion, estimated to cost about $25 million, will open for inmates in March.
The Davis County Sheriff's Office sponsored the event as a way to show residents how their tax dollars were spent.
Peterson has a neighbor who is 15 and is incarcerated in the old wing of the jail. He wanted his own sons, 15-year-old T.J. and 14-year-old Ryan, to experience what jail is like.
"When I told my friends that I was spending the night in jail, most of them were like, 'What'd you do?"' T.J. said.
Doors opened for the public at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Most people were done having their experience by 7 a.m. Saturday.
The night began with approximately 140 visitors, ages 14 and up, being locked in a cell block with white painted walls and stainless steel utilities. They played games, read books and wrote letters.
What they may not have realized was that they were receiving more privileges than any inmates.
"Last night was not as stringent," said Chief Deputy Kevin McLeod of the Davis County Sheriff's Office. "We were pretty lenient."
Despite that leniency, two people left in the middle of the night, according to McLeod.
Kellie Call, 20, of West Warren, and her friends read about the jail sleepover in a newspaper and decided it was something they wanted to try. But even though she made it through the night, Call said it is not something she wants to experience again.
"We had a list of things we hadn't done, and sleeping over at a jail was one of them," she said.
Alissa Yeaman, 20, of Roy, was not impressed by dinner — mashed potatoes, a chicken patty and peas. It was also hard for her to be locked up in a cell while eating.
Jackie Sterns, 20, also from Roy, was bored and said she would not want to go back.
"There's only so many card games you can play," Yeaman said.
Friday night is movie night at the jail. The guests were treated to the movie "Cars," but they first had to watch an orientation video. Inmates have to watch the video every Friday.
The video walks inmates through disciplinary procedures, what they can and cannot have or do, and other regulations of the jail.
After the movie, the guests were allowed out of the cell block for a short time to get a tour of the facility.
Public tours and sleepovers are something many facilities do before they are officially opened, said Sheriff Bud Cox.
Citizens were able to see the new video visiting area, the control rooms and the different blocks in the three pods of the new expansion.
"We're just pleased with the product we got," Cox said.
While the new expansion will have 400 beds, not all of them will be used by inmates of Davis County. The facility has the ability to house state inmates and also inmates from the U.S. Marshall's Office, and the county can make money from housing those prisoners.
"We were told to rent out as many (beds) as we can," Cox said.
A handful of elected officials took the opportunity to sleep over at the jail, including County Commissioner Carol Page, Rep. Curt Oda, 2nd District Court Presiding Judge Glen Dawson and Kent Jorganson, a former Ogden city councilman.
The biggest complaints from people who stayed over involved the beds and the lighting.
"We were expecting the lights to go off," Sterns said.
Sterns and her friends hit the intercom button to ask when the lights were going to go off and the deputy told them they were already off. In the jail, the lights never go out completely, they are only dimmed.
"I slept horrible," Call said. "I wanted to take the light bulb out."
Cox said the jail staff plans to look at dimming the lights a little more, but said for the lights remain on for security reasons.
"It's funny the things you take advantage of when you're here," Call said.
Some people arrived after dinner, and jail officials estimated a total of 150 citizens took advantage of the opportunity to stay over and learn more about the jail expansion.
"It certainly isn't a Hilton," Cox said. "I wish we could force the residents of Davis County to come and stay here and see what it is really like."
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