AUBURN – Behind the tinted glass of the jail’s control room, a black image of a closed lock flickered for a moment. With a loud snap, a mechanism inside the heavy, padded door opened. Instantly, the lock image on the computer screen opened and turned red.

All it took was a touch.

Within two weeks, each of the 100-plus locks and 23 cameras inside the Androscoggin County Jail will be operated with a new $303,000 security system.

It has been sorely needed, Jail Administrator John Lebel said Monday. He has been trying to get the change for at least four years.

The old system, installed when the building opened 13 years ago, simply fell apart. Parts had to be custom made. Buttons, switches and lights failed.

So many were broken – often indicating that open doors were locked – that guards had to memorize the busted ones. In one case, inmates were caught walking through a door that the old system said was locked.

Lebel believes the new system will last longer than the old one.

It’s impossible to make guarantees, said Jim Rondau, a senior technical representative for the system’s maker, Simplexgrinnell. However, this system was designed to be upgraded. If one component breaks, it can be replaced without weakening the whole system.

Considering the hefty price, gradual changes might be welcome.

“The average life span for one of these is seven to 10 years,” Lebel said. “Our unit lasted 13. We got pretty good mileage out of it.”

Installation of the new system began in early December. The long control board is gone. Touch-screen technology and digital video recording has replaced buttons, switches and lights.

The booth now resembles an air-traffic control room. Lights are dim to accentuate the movement on the screens.

Two identical stations have touch screens with a floor plan of the jail. They also have monitors showing images from the many cameras.

Unlike the old system, the pictures are in color, archived digitally and replayable at an almost lifelike speed.

The cameras are also connected to joysticks that can pan and zoom the cameras at near Hollywood pace.

The new system is a vast improvement, said Lisa Webster, a corrections officer who spent years with the old system.

The new system’s locks are reliable, and with practice, it will be faster and more efficient. For now, Webster is enjoying the greater visibility she has throughout the jail. There are three more cameras, and they’re all better and more versatile, able to read print off a page or pan fast to a needed corner of a room. There is less likelihood that something will go unseen.

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