Most law enforcement officers don't know what a typical shift will bring.
But with every arrest - from misdemeanors to violent crimes - funneling into the intake division of a single jail, the same could be said for Deputy April Toole of the Aiken County detention center. The intake division is one of a prisoner's first stops on the path through the judicial system after being arrested. After picking someone up on a charge, an officer arrives at the jail and uses a box and microphone outside barb-wired double gates to tell central control what they have, according to Toole. Central control communicates that to the booking division, and detention deputies go outside to meet the officer and defendant - or defendants, in some cases.
'Book 'em, Danno'
The first stop is a small room in the intake area where a deputy does a pat-down on a defendant to feel for items, including weapons, Toole said. Defendants' personal items are placed into a bag, and the deputy gets their names and charging documents and does a fingerprint scan to see whether the defendants have been to Aiken's jail before. Any cash a defendant has is inserted into an electronic kiosk for use in a commissary account while staying in the jail. The next stop is a large counter about 4 feet high, where Toole actually books an inmate in. "Tickets, warrants, hold forms, NCIC (National Crime Information Center) holds - anything like that, we make copies of," she said. Toole then gets an inmate's personal information, including where they live and receive mail, all of which is put into a computer system to be used next door in bond court.
"Once that's done, we'll fingerprint them, take a picture of them, dress them out and have them moved over to the housing unit," she said.
Don't say 'cheese'
Inmates getting booked into the jail usually take their booking photos in whatever they were wearing when they were arrested, Toole said. If they come to the jail without a shirt, they take their photo in a jumpsuit.
Inmates do have some general guidelines to follow when taking their mugshots.
"They can't go up there and throw up (hand) signs or smile," Toole said. "It's hard sometime when someone wants to grin."
The camera and photo software use face recognition, which doesn't accept photos in which the subject is smiling, has his eyes closed or his head cocked.
'It goes by the moon'
The booking process typically takes an hour to 90 minutes per inmate from the time a patrol car pulls into the intake area to the time an inmate goes to the housing unit, according to Capt. Nick Gallam, the jail administrator. Several factors can affect that, thought, from the number of defendants waiting to be booked in to the number of charges or items an inmate has.
Gallam said some defendants might have just one charge, but others can have a dozen or more. Also, some defendants bring only a wallet but others bring bags with multiple items in them, all of which have to be recorded by intake officers.
Inmate behavior also can affect the process, he said. Most inmates are well behaved, but some are combative.
"It goes by the moon," he said. "You have those who have been to jail before and they know the system. They're very compliant, they know the processes we have to go through. You have those people who may be non-compliant or under the effects of alcohol or drugs."
If an inmate is combative or suicidal, deputies place them in a restraint chair.
Technology has eased the process over the years, Gallam said. This includes digitalizing the fingerprint process, booking inmates electronically and putting inmate money into kiosks instead of holding onto it.
'Never a dull moment'
Gallam called the intake division a "triage center," commenting that men and women have their own areas to sit and holding areas. Those charged with public drunk or disorderly conduct are placed into a separate holding area and are not booked until they sober up.
In the main area are benches and a TV, much like a bus or airport terminal. Gallam said adult behavior is expected of the inmates.
"We ask them to just sit out here and be quiet," he said. "Let the deputies do their jobs and process people so they can get into court and get out of jail."
Toole said things remain interesting between the influx of new faces and the returning old ones.
"There's never a dull moment," she said. "There's always somebody different. Some of them you know by the time they hit the back door who they are."
With those regulars, she said, you see the different sides of each inmate.
"They might come in here crying, then the next day they come in here mad, then the next day they come in here cool, calm and collected," she said. "We have our regulars, and you see the different sides of them."
Teddy Kulmala covers the crime and courts beat for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since August 2012. He is a native of Williston and majored in communication studies at Clemson University.