Grand jury: Deschutes jail well-run but challenged

Deschutes County grand jurors inspected the county jail and other corrections facilities, as state law requires, and found them run well but facing special challenges in mental health issues and in need of expanding educational and substance abuse treatment programs.

The grand jurors’ observations, released Friday by the DA’s Office, also found the 90-bed Juvenile Detention Center is “woefully under-utilized,” with only eight youth in detention at the time of the December inspection. Since then, county leaders have moved toward using that space to relieve crowding at the jail and to find a new space for juveniles to be held.

Here’s the full 5-page report and recommendations:

GRAND JURY CORRECTIONAL INSPECTION

A Deschutes County Grand Jury was convened in December 2011, pursuant to ORS 132.440 to inquire into the condition and management of the adult and juvenile correctional facilities in Deschutes County. The grand jurors inspected each of the facilities currently in operation: The Deschutes County Jail, Work Center and the Juvenile Detention Facility.

During the course of their inspection, the grand jurors heard from the following individuals:

Deschutes County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Alta J. Brady

Sheriff Larry Blanton

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jones

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Gill

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Lutz

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Byers

Juvenile Detention Center Program Manager Chuck Puck

Juvenile Detention Center Supervisor Shawn Nielsen

Deschutes County Jail

The current maximum capacity for the Deschutes County Jail is 228 inmates. However, a number of factors consistently militate against operating at maximum capacity. Among those factors are the following: female inmates must be physically segregated from male inmates; inmates with mental health or medical problems need to be segregated or provided more space than healthy inmates; co-defendants must be housed apart from one another; and inmates with behavioral problems often require segregation or more space.

The jail has an $8,000,000 annual budget, approximately $1,000,000 of which is devoted to the behavioral modification and educational programs provided to inmates in an effort to enhance an inmate’s ability to re-enter the community as a productive and law-abiding citizen upon release.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is one of a handful in our state that is 100% accredited by the Oregon Accreditation Alliance in both the Patrol Division and the Jail.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jones and Lieutenant Gill led the inspection of the jail, which began in the sally port, the secure and highly controlled entryway where persons under arrest are brought into the jail. The grand jurors were impressed with the quality and security of the sally port and the procedures jail staff employ to make certain that no weapons or contraband enter the jail. The grand jury learned that as part of a statewide cooperative agreement with all Sheriff’s Offices, our sally port facility is used as the central hub east of the mountains for prisoner exchanges and as a secure rest facility for law enforcement officers transporting prisoners.

From the sally port, grand jurors inspected the pre-booking area and were given detailed information regarding the procedures that jail staff and arresting officer(s) employ in the pre-booking area. Specific attention was devoted to procedures employed for those arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants and grand jurors had the opportunity to examine the intoxilyzer and interview rooms. The grand jurors were also thoroughly briefed on the procedures jail staff follow to assess whether an arrested person is medically and mentally fit to be incarcerated in the jail. All jail staff have received professional training to identify common medical and mental health issues and are required to complete a detailed medical and mental health questionnaire prior to accepting custody of an arrestee.

The next point of inspection was the holding area in which there are a total of four rooms: one for holding suicidal or female inmates, one for cooperative male inmates, one for inmates displaying uncooperative behavior and one which is used as needed when access to a phone inside the room is required. The holding area is used for those about to enter the jail as well as inmates awaiting imminent release from the jail. Inmates are allowed to call an attorney at any time, are allowed one free phone call and as many collect phone calls as they request.

The grand jurors also learned about jail policies regarding family visitation. Generally, jail staff encourages and facilitates communication between inmates and family members because it has proven to be a good behavioral management tool and increases the likelihood that the inmate will be a productive member of the community upon release. Additionally, jail staff discussed procedures in place to minimize inmate suicide noting that there were no suicides in the jail during 2011.

Next the grand jurors inspected the food preparation area, recreation area and the laundry and shower facilities. The kitchen appeared to be very clean and well-organized. Staff explained that inmates on good behavior work in the kitchen preparing meals for fellow inmates and staff. There are two small recreation areas that have both an indoor and outdoor area. Each has a single pull-up bar mounted to the wall and a toilet. Grand jurors were impressed that tax payer money was not wasted on unnecessary exercise equipment. Jail staff explained that exercise equipment was eliminated as a cost-saving measure because inmates would consistently injure themselves and damage the equipment. The laundry and shower facilities were clean and well-maintained.

The grand jurors then spent some time in the “law library”: a room with one computer with access to legal resources. Jail staff explained that this room is also used for mental health assessments as needed.

Grand jurors then spent considerable time in the Medical Room discussing the myriad medical and mental health issues that the jail staff is required to address. There is one psychiatric nurse practitioner on duty full time and on-call 24/7; one mental health specialist on duty full-time and a physician that comes to the jail once a week. Additionally, there are five registered nurses on staff. The major health issues are related to drug and alcohol abuse.

Mental health issues unrelated to substance abuse are also a major concern for medical staff at the jail. Staff emphasized to grand jurors the need for substance abuse prevention and treatment options in our community outside the criminal justice system, citing a walk-in Detox/Mental Health Assessment Center as an example of a community-based facility that would relieve some of the resource pressure on the jail. The grand jurors were concerned about the lack of physical space given the high demand for mental health and medical treatment.

The jail staff then showed grand jurors the visiting areas where family members and attorneys meet with inmates. Video technology is used and is being increased to facilitate the need for inmate access to legal counsel because physical space for visitation is limited. There are three “attorney rooms” which are also used by Department of Human Services workers, chaplains and Parole and Probation officers. Grand jurors were impressed with how efficiently the limited physical space for visitation was utilized.

Work Center

The grand jurors inspected the Work Center and learned that there are usually 20-30 inmates housed in the center at any one time. No female inmates reside in the work center but female inmates are eligible for work crew. The grand jurors learned that the last escape from the work center was over nine years ago and that there were no escape attempts during 2011. Sergeant Lutz led the tour of the work center and answered grand juror questions about the type of work that inmates perform. He explained that the work crews are the primary caretaker of the horse rescue ranch (HART) and that funds generated from work crew services go into the County’s General Fund. Inmates must be low-risk and have no disciplinary problems to qualify for work crew. Inmates can earn one day off of their sentence for every ten hours of labor they perform.

The Work Center is increasingly being used to avoid overcrowding at the jail. This presented some concern to grand jurors because the work center was not designed to be a holding facility for medium and high risk inmates.

Juvenile Detention Center

Program Manager Chuck Puck and Supervisor Shawn Nielsen led the inspection of the Juvenile Detention Center. Grand jurors learned that the center houses juveniles between 12 and 17 years of age; that the average age is 14; and that the average total population is around 15. Juveniles attend school five and half days a week while in detention and school is always in session. Volunteers from the community come in to teach art, music, religion and health safety.

Security at the facility was excellent with interlocking doors and video monitoring in all areas of the facility. Similar to the jail, doors and video cameras are controlled by staff members in a central “control room”.

There are two full-time certified teachers and the county contracts with COIC for special education needs. All juveniles are out of their rooms between 13-16 hours a day involved in either school or other program activities with the philosophy referred to as “saturation” being employed. There are two gyms available for the youth where they may play basketball, volleyball and kickball. There is also a fenced, outdoor recreation area.

Grand Jurors Observations:

1. The physical condition of all correctional facilities was excellent. Each facility was clean and well-maintained. The physical security at each facility was very good.

2. Correctional staff at each facility present as well-trained and professional public servants who are committed to providing the highest quality service possible in a cost-effective manner. Grand jurors were particularly impressed with how jail staff manages to perform their duties given physical space limitations.

3. Programs within the jail like the substance abuse treatment/prevention program called Restart are functioning very well. Because 80-85% of all felony offenses are drug-related jail programs like Restart, along with specialty court programs like Family Drug Court and Mental Health Court, should be expanded. The specialty court programs are based upon sound scientific research, appear to be cost-effective and reduce recidivism.

4. Inmates with mental health issues are a special concern for the courts and jail staff because they occupy space and consume public safety resources needed for inmates who are at greater risk of committing serious crimes and because the jail does not have the financial resources or physical space required to operate as a mental health facility. Jail staff and medical and mental health professionals who provide services to inmates are providing an extraordinary level of service under the circumstances. Grand jurors were concerned that because community-based resources for those with mental health problems are lacking, the jail is being used as a de facto mental health facility.

5. The Juvenile Detention Center is woefully under-utilized. The center has the capacity to house 90 youth; only eight were in detention at the time of the inspection.

Grand Jury Recommendations:

1. The Grand Jury believes that public safety requires the County to place a high priority on expanding the current capacity of the jail. Jail staff appear to be operating the facility as efficiently as possible. However, due to the number of inmates requiring mental health and medical treatment, the need to segregate male and female inmates, co-defendants and inmates that represent a special risk to correctional staff or other inmates, the jail is operating beyond capacity. This has required the Sheriff to rent jail beds from Jefferson County and to use the Work Center to relieve overcrowding in the jail. Short-term measures such as these are costly and ineffective alternatives to expanding jail capacity.

2. The Grand Jury recommends that the Work Center be used for work crew eligible inmates and not to control overcrowding in the jail. The Grand Jury was extremely supportive of the work crew concept and disappointed to learn that legal restrictions prevent inmates who are being held pre-trial from being eligible for work crew. The Grand Jury recommends that the County explore ways to increase the number of inmates providing work crew services for county and other governmental agencies.

3. The Grand Jury recommends that the surveillance and monitoring equipment inside the jail be upgraded to enhance security and facilitate more efficient use of the limited physical space available for attorney-inmate communications. Not infrequently defense attorneys must request postponement of an inmate’s court case because they were not able to have a face-to-face conversation with their client at the jail. Approximately 75% of inmates are being held pre-trial or pre-adjudication and any measure that facilitates prompt and effective communication between the inmate and his or her attorney may reduce the length of time the inmate is held in jail prior to the resolution of his or her case. Providing video access as an alternative to in person visitation may help reduce the number of pretrial inmates.

4. The Grand Jury recommends that inmate educational and substance abuse treatment programs should be expanded because they have proven effective in assisting inmates to re-enter the community after a period of incarceration and such programs reduce recidivism. The Grand Jury also strongly recommends that the current specialty or “problem-solving” courts be expanded and the County support creation of a Veteran’s Court. The specialty courts enhance public safety, community well-being and are cost-effective means for reducing jail over-crowding.

The Grand Jury endorses this report:

______________________________

Michael Baynes

Grand Jury Foreman