Wasatch is the oldest facility at the Utah State Prison. It has housed inmates since 1951, when the State prison was moved to Draper from the site in Salt Lake City where Sugar House Park now sits. Since then, the prison complex has gradually expanded and now houses approximately 4,300 inmates at capacity.
Wasatch houses medium-security inmates as is where the prison’s infirmary is located. It also includes the Culinary, barbershop, library, a Family History Center, a non-denominational chapel and a recreation gymnasium. In total, Wasatch has capacity for nearly 800 inmates.
Wasatch A West (pictured below) serves as short-term, overflow housing for Receiving and Orientation, located in Uinta 5. The unit can house 95 offenders at capacity.
Wasatch A East can house 95 offenders at capacity.
Both sections are three-tiered housing units that use the old manual “Johnson Bar” system, brought from Sugar House, seen at Alcatraz.
Offenders in A East are single-celled, meaning they do not have cellmates. Inmates’ time out of their cells and other allowances vary based on privilege level and classification. Inmates can earn and lose privileges, like other inmates in the prison system. They have the ability to move around the facility to engage in work, attend educational courses, life skills classes and engage in other programs.
Wasatch Baker Block is a medium-security housing area inside the Wasatch building.
Wasatch Charlie Block houses 60 offenders at capacity and is currently the COVID Positive Isolation Unit.
D-Block (sometimes called “Dog Block”) houses 192 inmates at capacity.This is a general population housing unit and the offenders may attend programming and report to work. I also is the ADA hearing impaired housing unit and has had modification made to meet the needs of this population.
