UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Utica Police Department is in the middle of a $40,000 jail renovation project that will make upgrades to the existing cells.
    
Starting Monday, the U.P.D. will decommission 11 of the 21 prisoner holding cells, and upgrade the remaining ten.     
    
According to Utica Deputy Police Chief Michael Bailey All 21 cells are the original ones from when the building on Oriskany Street was built.  "So were looking at cells that are upwards of  60, 70, 80 years old," Bailey said     
    
Bailey says the renovations were necessary not just because most the cells are dirty and beyond repair, but in some cases they simply don't lock anymore.  " You could use a sturdy piece of cardboard, styrofoam cup, something like that to pop the lock and get out," Bailey said.

Bailey says the ten renovated cells are simply cleaner and will have newer working amenities like the toilet and sink.

However each cell will also have a phone so prisoners can make as many calls as they want. The catch? A Texas company installs phones in prisons across the country for free. All the calls made by prisoners will be long distance, so they pay per call. Then, the city shares the profits with the company.  "Its almost like the cell phone company, where you enter into a contract, they give you a phone, and say here its free, and they are making money off your calls," Bailey said.

Bailey says the cost to renovate each cell was around $4,000.  According to Bailey, the cost of the project was that cheap because the work was done by the maintenance staff at the department, as opposed to contracting out for another company to do the work.

Deputy Chief Bailey says even prisoners deserve a clean place to stay.  But more so, he says the new cells will help the police monitor the inmates.