Studer Community Institute

Justice Department wants big changes at Escambia County Jail

December 20, 2013
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ community-dashboard

The U.S. Department of Justice created quite a to-do list for the Escambia County Jail. The Justice Department issued a report earlier this year outlining deplorable operation of the jail, including racial segregation of inmates, critical staffing shortage, unacceptable levels of violence among inmates and woeful mental health care. The Sheriff’s Office said it couldn’t fix any of these issues without a supersized budget increase. County COmmissioners opted to take over jail operations themselves, convinced they could do a better job of things. This fall the jail’s nearly 400 employees and its $31 million budget became the purview of the county’s department of corrections. So just what does the Justice Department want changed at the jail? Pretty much everything. Including, but not limited to:

Corrections officers will document and conduct security rounds in each housing unit.
Video surveillance will an enhancement not a substitute for these actual rounds.
Rounds will be documented without the use of preprinted times and or signatures.
Cells will be searched for contraband by random visual inspections of cells, common areas, intake cells; as well as periodic large scale searches of common areas, housing units, laundry, classrooms, etc.
Contraband that is found will be documented.
Corrections officers overseeing special areas including protective custody and the infirmary receive at least eight hours of special training and annually thereafter;
New policies will be put in place that require managers to be notified of serious safety issues at the jail shortly after they have occurred, and no later than the end of the shift.
New policies will be put in place to manage the collection of data about safety incidents, including whether staffers complied with policy, whether corrective action is needed and the effectiveness of training.
That the jail implement a tracking system that captures in one report the most relevant information about serious safety or security issues including location, any injuries sustained to prisoners or staff, any prisoner or staff witnesses, any medical care provided, primary and secondary staff involved, the reviewing supervisor, external reviews and results, the remedy taken, and administrative sign-off.

These remedial measures shall also require Jail management and leadership to effectively review and use the consolidated report.

90 days after the effective date and every six months thereafter until this agreement terminates, will be submitted to the monitor at DOJ a report detailing the use of force by staff and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, and whatever other information the Monitor and DOJ deems necessary. Excepting the initial submission, within 60 days of receiving the Periodic Security/Safety Report, the monitor and DOJ will assess and report back on whether the county is making substantial progress. “This Agreement shall remain in effect up and until such time as the data and information provided in the Periodic Security/Safety Report to the Monitor and DOJ establish that the goal of this subsection has been achieved in full for a sustained period of time.

The jail will implement fully the provisions of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. In regards to staffing, the county will:

Fill all vacancies that exist as of the effective date.
Within one year hire 30 more staff; within two years higher 30more staff for a total of 60; within 3 years hire 20 more staff and within four years hire 20 more for a total of 100 more personnel. Two years after the effective date, the county may have another staffing report prepared to evaluate levels.

In regards to housing prisoners by race:

This practice will cease and policies and procedures will be reviewed and implemented to ensure that the practice of racial segregation in the jail does not continue, either formally or informally. Housing data will be collected to ensure that the jail and the jail staff comply with this to the DOJ’s satisfaction. That date will be reported to DOJ and monitor 90 days after the effective date and every six months thereafter. That will continue until the change has been made for a sustained period of time. In regards to mental health care at the jail: -- Policies will change to ensure that prisoners who request mental health treatment are seen by a qualified professional in a timely fashion, that the care and staffing levels are appropriate and that a document trail exists of this chain of care. Prisoner treatment plans will be written down and reviewed every 30 days for the first three months of placement and every 90 days thereafter.

The recommendations to achieve this include:

Psychotropic drugs shall not be used in lieu of other, less intrusive therapies and when they are used, the dosage and time administered will be documented.
Housing someone with significant mental health issues in isolation shall not be used as a substitute for adequate medical care.
An adequate number of mental health professionals will be on staff and will be available for consultation 24 hours a day either in person or by phone. And a written mental health staffing plan will be maintained.
Every week of the year at least two psychiatrists work at the Jail, each for at least 32 hours a week. These hours shall be clearly documented and logged.
Jail leadership will consult with psychology and psychiatry professionals so that jail administrator know what the mental health team needs in the way of resources.
Trained mental health staff will evaluate incoming prisoners prior to housing assignments being made, within four hours of booking. The finding will be shared among appropriate staff. That evaluation will include explicit screening for the potential for self-harm, delirium, depression, mania, and psychosis; suicide attempt history, prior mental health treatment or hospitalization, recent loss of a loved one, family history of suicidal thoughts, observations of transporting officers of the person’s mental health state, history of drug use or withdrawal symptoms.
After the initial screening, rechecks will be done within 10 days or as soon as medically necessary for routine mental health needs; within 24 hours for urgent mental health needs; and immediately or no later than within two hours for emergent mental health needs.
An assessment will be done by a mental health professional within 24 hours of a suicide attempt or ideation.
Adequate care for prisoners with mental health issues shall include referrals to psychologist or psychiatrist for a treatment plan.

The mental health care screenings procedure shall be evaluated annually. Read the report here. Read the original DOJ report here. [progresspromise]

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Justice Department wants big changes at Escambia County Jail

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