1. Jail operations final reprt - Laserfiche WebLink

supervisors) must be quickly replaced. They threaten safety and security and are therefore dangerous to other staff. 4. The Sheriff and County Coordinator must meet to develop protocols for dealing with maintenance issues. The protocols should address the chain of command, response time, maintenance after hours and on weekends, and the priorities for response. Not all maintenance problems require an immediate response while others may need to be addressed even if it is after hours or on a weekend. Unlike other County operations, the jail is open 24 hours per day ant the heaviest demand on its heating, ventilation, plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems Js often on weekends when inmate populations reach their peak. For example, a plugged shower in and of itself does not require an immediate response if it is not causing some other problem like other drains backing up or flooding into common areas creating safety hazards for staff and inmates. It can simply be put out of service until the next time maintenance staff is on duty. The inmates do not have to have access to a shower for a day or two until the shower can be unplugged. However, if the plugged shower is causing water to back up In other drains/areas and run on to the floor, immediate action is necessary. Another example is the plugged vents in individual cells. The plugged vents cause a maintenance problem but the removal of the obstruction is probably not a maintenance duty. Officers should make sure that there are no obstructions over the vents each time they inspect the cells and if possible each time they make a round through the housing unit. When they find a vent obstructed, the inmate must be instructed to dean off the vent and appropriate disciplinary action must be taken. Plugged vents should not be accepted as just something inmates do and that nothing can be done about the problem. It is also recommended that the Sheriff/Jail Administrator and County Coordinator meet briefly each day for the next thirty (30) days to ensure the protocols are working as hoped. This should significantly reduce the growing tension between the maintenance and jail staff. 5. It is critical that the Sheriff and County Commissioners lobby the prosecuting attorney for accelerated prosecution, jail time and restitution for those inmates who commit vandalism in the jail. It is critical that other inmates see that the perpetrators get additional time in this jail for their acts and that the jail can handle their behaviors, it Is most effective If the prosecution is done quickly and if it is not part of a plea agreement on other charges. Thus, the perpetrators and other inmates know they will be specifically held accountable for their acts of vandalism and other crimes in the jail The consultant5 encourage accelerated prosecution of those individuals who are responsible for the existing vandalism. If there is to be a deterrent effect for the rest of the inmate population, a quick and certain punishment is necessary. Cass County Jail Project 10