Abandoned Prison Now Guarded By City Cops

JOLIET, IL — The city announced that it’s now up to the police department to guard the shuttered Joliet Correctional Center.

“Since the prison closed over 12 years ago, budget shortfalls and staffing limitations have prevented the state from properly maintaining the buildings and structures,” the city said in a press release. “As a result, collapsed floors, crumbling walls, and failing roofs create a danger to any trespasser.”

And there have apparently been plenty of trespassers visiting the old Collins Street prison, with numerous urban explorers posting their illicit adventures on YouTube.

The city also pointed out that “two young women accidentally locked themselves in one of the jail cellswhen they entered the property and several months ago one of the buildings inside the walls of the western prison was set on fire by an arsonist.”

The new agreement allows Joliet police to “arrest and prosecute trespassers who enter the Collins Street Prison property,” the press release said.