DURHAM — April 29, 1996 - 11:36 a.m. EDT

Several hundred people visited a site in Durham over the weekend that they hope never to see from the inside again. The city's new detention center, capable of holding more than 800 inmates, opened Saturday.

The center is being referred to as a "new generation jail" because of its highly technical inmate monitoring systems. The facility cost taxpayers more than $42 million.

Barbara Fish, a Durham resident, says she believes it is money well spent.

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Durham resident Beverly Williams has different views. She feels some of that money could be put to better use in programs that prevent crime.

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The Durham County Sheriff's office says law enforcement works hard to eliminate the need for jails, but that until then, there will always be a need for prisons.