Go Directly to Jail: Please Leave Your Freedom at The Gate

For the entirety of my life, I have avoided jail, even if it was a narrow escape at times. This passed Tuesday did not allow for that escape, as JOU 4181 made the trek to Hillsborough County Jail.

Upon entering the reception area, we were asked to stow our belongings inside a locker. Students emptied their pockets, stuffing car keys, wallets, spare change, watches, and everything under the sun into small metal lockers, adjacent to the jail entrance.

We were handed ID cards that we were told to hold onto for dear life. I tightly clipped mine onto my shirt pocket, careful to make sure it was securely fastened.

One thing odd that I noticed, was despite all of the precautions, we still walked around the metal detector, rather than through it. Odd yes, but beside the point, so I digress.

On through the gates we passed, met by a row of orange clad prison mates, being led down the hall by a single deputy. The look in their eyes, as they glared at our group of bright eyed college students, said it all. We were in their territory now.

The next stop was the camera room. I was surprised to learn how much footage was public record.

Pretty much everything, unless it is evidence, is available to journalists. The police are open with information, which reinstated some formerly lost faith in the police department.

Central booking was infinitely less pleasant. As we entered, an inmate offered an intimate welcome to the female visitors. Unfortunately for him, it was not reciprocated and he was dragged off into his own private waiting cell.

As we exited central booking, on our way to public information, I am relatively sure that one of the women prisoners barked at us. I had to do a double take to make sure, but as I turned to look, the guard cracked down and the alleged offenders grew silent. I would never know if the sound were human, or a wayward canine had wandered through the door.

After a journey through the depths of hell, we finally made it to public information. This is where Colonel James Previtera offered us some advice.

"The kind of person that's very educated on their story," said Previtera, referring to the type of reporters that they welcome.

As a former journalist himself, Previtera was well versed in his knowledge of our world.

"We live by 119," He said, "We know what should be distributed and what shouldn't."

As we moved toward the exit, it became clear that the ID card doubled as a get out of jail free card. As we were told in the beginning, it's a lot easier to get into Hillsborough County Jail than it is to get out.