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DOJ Report: Escambia Jail Unsafe, Understaffed
May 23, 2013
A report released by the U.S. Justice Department has found that conditions inside the Escambia County Jail routinely violate the constitutional rights of prisoners.
The DOJ concluded that known systemic deficiencies at the jail, mainly due to staffing shortages, continue to subject prisoners to excessive risk of assault by other prisoners and to “clearly inadequate” mental health care.
The five-year investigation also found that until recently, the jail had an informal policy and practice of designating some of its housing units as only for African-American prisoners. By segregating some of its prisoners on the basis of race, the jail not only stigmatized and discriminated against many of its African-American prisoners, it also fanned combustible racial tensions within the jail.
Escambia County Sheriff’ David Morgan has warned the Escambia County Commission about the woeful conditions in the facility, which houses roughly 1,300 prisoners. His recently submitted 2013-2014 budget request to the commission includes a request for an $18.8 million increase. A portion of the increase was specifically requested to hire 83 additional detention deputies along with 12 detention assistants for $6.3 million.
The beginning of the DOJ investigation coincided with Morgan taking office, and the report praised his efforts to improve conditions.
“We commend Sheriff Morgan for his willingness to work aggressively to remedy many of the problems brought to his attention during the course of our investigation,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division.
Some of Morgan’s improvements included the implementation of a formal prisoner classification system, improvements in monitoring the use of force, development of a prisoner grievance process, increase use of surveillance cameras, retrofitting cells to decrease suicide risk, improvements to female housing, addressing the needs of prisoners with physical disabilities and improved medical procedures.
But the DOJ’s report still found numerous issues, many related to inadequate staffing.
The report found:
- Prisoner on prisoner assaults are a common occurrence at the jail, making the facility unsafe for prisoners.
- A March 2011 study gave county officials insight to the severe staffing problems at the facility.
- Jail leadership fails to appropriately monitor and track prisoner on prisoner violence and the use of force by staff on prisoners.
- The decades-long practice of housing some prisoners in black-only pods was discriminatory, fanned racial tensions and contributed to prisoner perceptions that the jail favors white prisoners over black prisoners. The practice ended in 2012.
- The jail does not provide adequate and timely access to appropriately skilled mental health professionals, routinely fails to provide appropriate mental health medications, and provides inadequate housing and observation for prisoners with serious mental illness. The report found about one prisoner per month is sent to the hospital after self-injury as a result of a clearly inadequate mental health program.
“Without an adequate complement of security personnel, (the) Escambia County Jail cannot possibly keep its prisoners safe,” the report found.”Until the Jail addresses staffing shortages, the Jail will remain unsafe.”
Additionally, staffing shortages have crippled the jail’s ability to conduct a sufficient number of cell searches to protect both prisoners and staff from serious harm due to contraband and potentially dangerous items. According to the DOJ, only 41 cell searches were conducted across the entire facility during a one year period.
The sheriff and county have 49 days to reach an agreement with the Department of Justice on how they plan to correct the staffing and additional issues at the jail. If no agreement is reached by the deadline, the Attorney General may file a federal lawsuit.
Comments
46 Responses to “DOJ Report: Escambia Jail Unsafe, Understaffed”
REGARDING:
“The decades-long practice of housing some prisoners in black-only pods was discriminatory, fanned racial tensions and contributed to prisoner perceptions that the jail favors white prisoners over black prisoners. The practice ended in 2012.”
To avoid the perception of prejudice in the future, play musical beds. Every one to seven days reshuffle the sleeping arrangements. (Not every day, not every seventh day, just let a random number generator pick the days of shuffling.)
Let another random number generator pick the cell and cot for each inmate. It might be a bit rough on newbies who had to bunk with repeat sexual offenders, but that’s the price of equality.
Alternatively, consider not putting everyone tightly together in an expensive single building. Picture ten by ten cottages housing just one inmate each every hundred feet or so inside a fenced area with cameras, microphones, forbidden perimeter and mock oranges between the fence and the cottages.
Assume 1600 cottages, 40 to a side, 4000 feet by 4000 feet, less than a section of land, assume 640 acres, $10,000 per acre, $6.4 million dollars plus building costs. Doable. Put it in Bluff Springs near the nuclear power plant.
Less crowding, less problemsl.
David for fewer inmates
The Department of Justice? Is this a joke? The DOJ run by Eric Holder is the biggest laughing stock in the law world at this very moment. The Department of Justice is the most awash department in the current administration. Any and every attorney what I work for and against all agree that the DOJ is at its worse it has ever been since its beginnings and is downright laughable.
I was suprised to find typos throughout the DOJ report. It almost seems like they “threw it together.”
With that said, another point to make is that in retrospect, Escambia County Jail is the most comfy jail I have ever walked in to. Inmates get junk food, free medical, TV, Clean bedsheets and clean jumpsuits weekly, art classes, bible study classes, GED classes, basketball, exercise for TWO hours a day, everyday, hot showers, hot coffee, nintendo wii, playing cards, checkers, couches, the list goes on all on your taxpayer dime. Jail has been so easy than it has ever been before and this report comes out?
Why is crime so high in Escambia County? Because the jail is soft as beans due to liability concerns. Don’t worry, you’ll commit any crime you want and receive the above noted entitlements.
I’m suprised they won’t be getting pizza parties and late movies nights on the weekends…. oh wait, THEY ALREADY DO.
BEING RETIRED FROM THE JAIL I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A POSITIVE LIST OF THE BRAVE PEOPLE THAT SHOW NO FEAR CONTROLING MURDERING-MOLESTING-MEAN PEOPLE.
WOMEN 5 FEET TALL GOING INTO MALE PODS ALONE, GETTING IN THE FACE OF 6 FOOT 200 POUND MAN, TELLING HIM HOW IT IS GOING TO BE.
HAVING TO PULL INMATES OUT OF PODS AFTER THEY HAVE SMEARED YOU KNOW WHAT ALL OVER WALLS, A VERY LOVELY SMELL.
DEALING WITH MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NOT BE THERE.
MONITORS WHO GET LOWER PAY, NO RAISES FOR YEARS, NO APPRECIATION BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OFFICERS, BUT DEAL WITH SAME PROBLEMS,LESS BENEFITS ETC.
ALL IN ALL A GREAT BUNCH OF HARD WORKING PEOPLE, WORKING WITH PEOPLE MOST FOLKS RUN FROM.
WE APPRECIATE OUR DEPUTIES ON THE STREET, BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THESE PEOPLE AFTER THEY BRING THEM IN.
@works there – yes, the number of those who voted seems pretty bleak…. however, getting the time off to go vote is like asking for leave; denied, denied denied! I want to know why a few select were paid a lot more for their excess leave than others!?!?!
Work is work – agreed! However, if I go to a job and have crap thrown at me, spitted on, called a “cracker”, etc. etc. etc., the pay should equal the crap I have to put up with. If I request time off, then I should be granted it! I have earned it!!!!
Reading your comments makes me think that you are one of Morgan’s golden children – again, the “good ole boy network” is still alive and well, Surprise, surprise, surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time for a reality check.
I feel bad for the Officers that have to work in those conditions, but I have no sympathy for violations of a criminals rights…. Criminals shouldn’t have rights. If it were as bad as they make it out to be, there would not be sooooooo many repeat offenders.
It all sounds pretty bleak.
Yea being understaffed is bs but i work for the state so come on out to the state then you can see understaffing at its worst. the high up people don’t care if we die they just sit in the ac all day thinking us grunts are just another number
I for one was stuck in a tower for 12 hours and never received a break in order to vote both days I could. Not my fault, especially when I asked for breaks but we were “to short, and someone will get there when we can” Now…..I do agree the mixed raced pods claim is ludacris. People have no idea what goes on in that place but can sit back and write on paper how it should be done. We had a desk to road program at one time. I only seen one desk job employee get back to his roots and come work in the trenches. Not only work there, but pulled more weight then most of the everyday officers. He has now made SGT and I don’t know of anyone that deserves it more! Bottom line we all need a job. But we need support too.
@ Lucy ~~~ while everyone may not be a dues paying member of the PBA, everyone in each bargaining unit had the right to vote on the contract. The PBA website indicates only 123 of 245 line officers took the opportunity to cast their vote. Of those 123 employees 27 voted to reject the contract. And yes, I was one who voted “no”.
* Employees shouldn’t complain if they didn’t exercise their right to vote.
* Employees shouldn’t complain if they voted to accept the contract knowing it was a poor contract to accept.
* Employees shouldn’t complain if they didn’t attend any PBA meetings and offer their input as to what would be acceptable contract language.
Far too many employees chose to sit back and grumble about things, but far too many wont do anything to bring about changes. I agree the job can be very stressful on many days. There are a lot of shifts when the workload seems to go non-stop. But that is why they call it work.
@ Sick and tired ~~ the staffing issues didn’t happen overnight. Staffing problems began about 10 years ago under McNesby and Dennis Williams. The last 6 years has been the worst in attracting new hires. Why would anyone want to come to work at a place where their boss (the Sheriff) has openly stated they are uneducated and untrained any may have alleged the CO’s were murderers? Why would anyone want to work in the jail facility that is under a DOJ investigation? Why would anyone want to stay in the job where they haven’t received a pay raise in 7 years? Add to this mixture, the ever increasing violent tendency of todays youth that believe violence is an answer to all their problems.
I realize that many of our senior employees have chosen to remain in the job versus starting over in a new career. We all make choices. Each choice has consequences, both good and bad. Despite all the bad in our chosen line of work, I see time after time how many of our employees who have resigned or retired seem to have no problem returning to the cesspool once the new job didn’t work out or found they were too young to be live comfortably on the pittance of a retirement check they receive.
Of all the atrocities noted by the DOJ, nothing really alarms me. The lack of staffing contributes to the majority of problems. The increase in personnel will certainly solve security issues and leave issues. The one thing I found laughable was the DOJ complaints that black inmates are being discriminated against or that an all black pod was treated differently that a pod containing with equal or somewhat equal ratio of black and whites. These all balck pods were provided the same TV, coffee pot, visitation, commissary, medical, outside recreation, church activities, mailing privileges, kitchen meals, clothing, etc.
Now, to solve the all black pod problem, the jail has instituted a system of placing 5 to 7 white inmates in a pod of 17 to 19 black inmates and this is suppose to make everything safer for everyone? I don’t get it their logic.
What I find funny is when Morgan first got elected, he came running in the door say we are going to have to face this DOJ investigation head on. He claimed he had nothing to do with the DOJ coming in but he would deal with it. We all know he was behind the original complaint so he could use the findings to support his campaign. Now, he really does have to deal with it. Not only did the past Sheriff have issues there, Morgan has a lot of his own. There are a lot of things that have been on-going for the last five years he’s done nothing about as well. You can’t live in a glass house and throw stones dummy. Wear your own problems.
@Scott, I have never seen colored only signs, but I know there are places I do not belong, so I do not go there.
If someone wants to put up a sign, no offense to me, thanks for the heads up I say.
@works there – the PBA actually accepted the conditions of the buy out. Not everyone belongs to the PBA so those without a voice were screwed, unless they hired an attorney, and with what money. The contract is public record.
@works there………. agreed 100%. They actually robbed more than 1/2 of their leave pluswhich any leave accrued during the “process” was forfeited. One of the “admin” personnel processing the payout advised one of the Corrections Officers to “have a better handle on their leave balances”. Really? We also have a stack of vacation requests that have been denied due to low staffing……………
I think the cuts should start with the administration personnel. Anyone with a title is assigned an administrative secretary, and they make a minimum of $50,000 a year. Don’t believe it – look it up – it’s public records.
Morgan would like nothing more than to pass the jail off to the BOCC. He has eluded to it time and time again. He cares nothing about the officers who put their lives on the line each and every day. They have crappy shifts, crappy work conditions, and a crappy commander who cares nothing about them!
Unfortunately, Morgan has become one of those “good ole boys”. Surprise, surprise!
@Works there>>>
1) Not sure who KR is….but the only reason he has not taking the job at CSX when offered is because our youngest is almost out of high school and the low man on the line gets called out the most. He is not the youngest man out there and is afraid to start a new profession.
2) Don’t get me wrong…We BOTH loved his job at one time. But the last few years have been nothing but let down after let down. Scare tactic after the next. My household has been living as a jail in its own way due to the stress and restraints that place is causing him. Some days he drags in the door and doesn’t want to speak because he has been ran ragged for 12 hours straight. WE have been a loyal family to his job for years. WE, as his family, deserve to have the man we know back. Not the slave made by the last few understaffed, underpaid, under appreciated, under respected shell of a man that that place sends home every day. I am not the only person feeling this way.
@ Works there>>>
You may be right, I don’t 100% know the lay out, All I do know is I get the brunt of the frustration in my home life along with my two kids. I do know there was a reprimand brought home at one time and there was SEVERAL supervisors listed. The statement about leave was based on the facts one of yalls Admin or Patrol head guys gave. Now there are several statements my husband has gave me that correspond with several of his friends or Facebook friends post. This should be a sign to all! Its not one person is several. I agree that a contract was signed outta fear. But why should employees fear being taking advantage anymore by a Sherriff?. Granted we, as a family, weighed the options, due to several people pushing the contract to be signed. It came to the point of “Well babe, do what you want but if they are threatening to take everything then whats your options?” When you are told you have no options but sign it or lose it what can people do? We used to love his co workers, we used to have plenty of S.O Employees at our place on weekends, and camping trips were a reward for him and his co workers after a stressful week. Now he and his buddies are too stressed out or worn out to have a good life outside of those walls. I agree I spoke to soon maybe, maybe I didn’t know it all, got some facts not incorrect and took a look at a few others FB pages and reiterated info……but good Lord me and my kids are feeling the stress of that place and something needs to be done! Something fair, something safe, something less bleeding heart for this towns scum and more supportive for the men and woman that have to deal with the job.
@ sick and tired ~ you said
1) I agree the S.O is WAY to top heavy at the jail. There are SGT working in Computer programs, Sgt over “Special Projects”. 1st Lt’s under 1st Lt’s in every building. Its crazy to figure out the chain of command and we couldn’t tell you who the top dog actually is at this time!!
2) Employees were just robbed of 1/2 of all their leave they earned for the last few years because none of them could take time off BUT the higher ups in Admin had no extra leave to be stolen from them Hummmm. (coming from an admins mouth “Its yalls fault” then gave a list of all the big wigs leave balances while the line officers are holding slips asking for leave marked DENIED (I haven’t had a vacation with my husband for 4 years!)
Hope the following helps you understand your workplace a little better. The chain of command is simple. You have the jail commander (who was newly selected in the last 60 days or so) and a colonel.
Next up are three 1st Lieutenants. One oversees the four shifts assigned to intake, One oversees the four shifts assigned to CBD security, an one is assigned to oversee the four shifts assigned to main jail security.
The intake shifts and CBD security shifts each have 1 lieutenant and a sergeant to supervise the employees assigned to their respective shifts. The main jail has 1 shift lieutenant and 3 sergeants to supervise the line employees assigned to their respective shifts.
Lastly, you have a sergeant or lieutenant who supervise specialty units or programs such as Internal Affairs, Training, Inspections, Inmate Property, Transportation, Visitation, Projects, Computer Programs, and Classification. Not that hard in figuring out the chain of command. In no section does one 1st lieutenant supervise another 1st lieutenant. If you are unsure of an employees rank or job assignment, take the time to ask.
While you complain about being “robbed” by having half your accrued excess leave time being moved to your sick leave balance (which I know the sheriff will never buy from employees) those in supervisory positions were in the same boat as line officers. The leave buy-back contracts are public records. You should request to see them. You might be extremely surprised over the supervisory positions that had hundreds of hours of annual leave or holiday time converted to comp time or sick leave.
Too many employees voted for a contract in order to accept short term reward of the leave buy back and transfer of excess leave to their sick leave balance, than to fight for a full payout of excessive leave. These employees viewed acceptance of the contract as the lesser of two evils believing the Sheriffs Command Staff would just take the leave without any compensation so they chose to accept a limited buy back of excess leave. Horrendous choice as its only going to get worse without additional employees as there isnt enough staff to allow employees to use the leave they are earning and come their next anniversary date that excess leave is going to be lost under the use it or lose it plan forced upon employees by the Sheriff.
Not having a vacation with your husband in four years cant always be blamed on staffing or supervisors. Every supervisor has worked with employees to accommodate all reasonable request for leave. You may not have gotten all the leave you desired or requested, but you should have easily been able to take enough time to get a 7 to 10 day vacation with the husband. Maybe KR can help you get your foot in the door at CSX.
I have probably the most simplest of solutions……. For everyone to live correctly n stop breaking the laws, therefore they can live in better conditions of their own makings. And would totally wipe out any use of jails or prisons….. Yeah I know – too logical.
I suspect Sheriff Morgan requested the DOJ to conduct the jail survey — as a means to force the County Commission’s hand to provide more funding.
This could come back to bite him… If things don’t improve — with or without more funds — the Feds can actually place a consent decree on the jail/department, and essentially take over the management of the facility and department.
You want to see things really get screwed up? Let the Feds take over the Sheriff Department and jail… ESPECIALLY with Eric Holder in charge of the DOJ!!!
I completely agree with sick and tired above.
I could not do my 25 years but I did enough to retire.
Many reports have come from the State over the years, yet nothing has been done. It was really bad in the Russo/Cornish years.
Friends, Family, and the unqualified if your in the click. Get in line for your promotion. It made me sick then and now. It is also true about the leave. They deny you then won’t pay you for it when you retire. Not deputy’s but detention deputy’s. That’s the last I heard.
I thank God every day I made it to 55 so I could get out of there. Worse place I ever worked in my life. I can understand why they are always short of officer’s. They have been forever and for the same reasons. Forever.
DOJ should be ashamed for not finishing its study much sooner than five years! Certainly they could have brought this out years ago…so now five years of sub-standard conditions have been the norm. Shame!
Hey, its JAIL. Its not supposed to be fun. DOJ is pathetic. Run by an idiot. If its so bad, why are there so many repeat offenders in it. Cant be too bad.
@Dave,I think that weighing his options, his choice for a safer community outweighs the jail situation.
Where do live? Do you not read the paper or watch the news we have a higher crime than any other county in the state,i think that measures our current leaders and what their goals have become.
@ In the know,you are correct 100%.
Scott: I not only heard of “Whites Only” or “Colored Only: signs, I lived through this era when I came to this country in 1964. I think you confuse racism with practical reasons why certain prisoners (most of them belong to a gang on the outside!!!!) have to be kept apart. Talk about violence in a prison when members of rival gangs are housed in the same cell!. Maybe you have inside information on the different gangs that I am lacking. I always assumed there are no black members in the “Arian Nation” gang and vice versa the “Black Panthers” do not have white members. (I realize the gang names are old and outdated, as I stated I am not up to snuff on the criminal element in Escambia County) .
I believe the Sheriff should get what he needs.
An MSTU tax strictly for him and overseen by him.
Won’t have to blame the Commisioners that way, only satisfy each of us to get re-elected.
@DH, This isn’t a partisan issue. Our courts are always open to there being law suits (if you have the money for a lawyer). Inmates have rights, but they would hard pressed to find an attorney that is going to represent them pro bono or on a contingency basis or them getting help from the ACLU unless there has been a very egregious offense and in that scenario there should be a law suit or possibly criminal charges, but there is nothing like that pending.
I don’t think your fears or concerns have any merit. The main issue is about being understaffed.
If there is a conspiracy in this at all, it would more likely be setting up a p/r campaign about cost so someone in the private sector (Wall Street) will step up and say they can do it cheaper, which is just a way to leave the same problems in place while steering tax dollars to a “For Profit” owner while taking the liability off of the county, only to have the same revolving door problem with criminals I mentioned earlier. IMO.
The jail has been understaffed for 25 years or so. No matter who the sheriff is, they just do not care.The jail has always been the sheriff’s step child. Many of these report’s have been done by the state over the year’s yet nothing has changed. Leadership is and has always been POOR. Especially in the Russo and Cornish era.
Their requirement not to smoke and other requirements hinder hiring. It is hard enough to find people who can pass the background check and drug test as it is.
It was the worse place I ever worked in my life. If your friend, family or idiot get in line for you stripes.
So very very glad to be gone.
As a person who has been in the Escambia county jail in all its iterations over the last 25 years I would say that the jail is run better nowadays. you actually feel safer while in there than it used to be. and to be completely honest, most white inmates prefer to be placed with white inmates, minority inmates prefer to be housed with inmates of the same minority. As a person who lived in these conditions they are speaking about I have a good perspective on it. The reason the segregation took place was because of racial tensions. If the inmates are segregated, there is one less problem for understaffed corrections officials to have to worry about. and to be honest people were really getting hurt by another inmate(usually a minority) due to the image given of white guys about being soft.(scary) And most of the white guys are so things escalate until someone is hurt. I really can’t believe I am defending the c.o.s but right is right.
1) I agree the S.O is WAY to top heavy at the jail. There are SGT working in Computer programs, Sgt over “Special Projects”. 1st Lt’s under 1st Lt’s in every building. Its crazy to figure out the chain of command and we couldn’t tell you who the top dog actually is at this time!!
2) Employees were just robbed of 1/2 of all their leave they earned for the last few years because none of them could take time off BUT the higher ups in Admin had no extra leave to be stolen from them Hummmm. (coming from an admins mouth “Its yalls fault” then gave a list of all the big wigs leave balances while the line officers are holding slips asking for leave marked DENIED (I haven’t had a vacation with my husband for 4 years!)
3) The Escambia County Jail is not a mental health hospital. Maybe the State of Florida needs to reevaluate their need for a long term mental health care facility. The jail is acting as a mental health care facility because the state does not have one!!! And stop giving “guidelines” for lawyers to use to have their otherwise normal clients use to act crazy and get deemed mentally unstable (Yes, I’ve seen it! A Pamphlet passed from one inmate to the next!)
4) I agree the guidelines for getting hired are too strict at the Escambia, Credit being one of those stupid things that shouldn’t matter, or idiotic things that we did as 15 year old kids. (why I cant get hired, one drunken night at 15 HAA) But the No tobacco is helping them all on Insurance. That needs to stay a requirement.
5) Segregated pods. Its funny to see that the inmates have an issue with this but they are continuously trying to make all white/black pods themselves with the “I’m in fear of my safety” Excuse. That’s the problem, the inmates control where they go and know the key words to TRY and get moved and manipulate the housing arrangement’s, then scream Violated cause some person interviewed them that knows nothing about the way things are ran, or about that inmates past issues the officers have dealt with on a daily basis. (They interviewed one inmate that fights in EVERY pod he is in, he claimed he feels unsafe but yet he is the aggressor. They cant separate him, or house him alone because of State of Florida rules its against his rights) How much since does that make???
6) Understaffed is an understatement. But yet Detention officers continue to be pulled from housing areas and into street jobs, or admin positions. The good old boy system is still there. It all depends on who youre married to, who they party with or who cleans whos house to get the positions everyone is after. So ready for my husband to take another job, and he is close to retirement, I support him leaving!!!. I hear CSX Railroad is hiring!
Comments assume DOJ report is correct and unbiased. Facts are being revealed daily that show The US DOJ is going after organizations and individuals that disagree with its leadership.This county votes Republican and our sheriff is Republican. This report just threw the door open for frivolous inmate lawsuits in federal court. The DOJ Civil Rights Div can get involved, and then… hear that? The sound of our local coffers being sucked dry as the money is redistributed through the court system toward minority inmates and the federal govt.
@429SCJ
Have you ever heard of or read “Coloreds Only” signs?
There are plenty of certified corrections officers who would love a job at the jail. However the county has much more strict qualification requirements. Things like perfect credit ( not an easy thing to come by in a career field that is historically underpaid, and no tobacco use. I honestly don’t see why my personal choice to use tobacco should have an affect on my ability to do my job correctly. I personally and at least 10 other officers I know can’t even begin looking for a job at the jail. So if they wanted those positions filled, seems they could set the same standards as every state facility, the Department of Corrections runs just fine, and allow some good hard workers the oppurtunity for a job helping the county we all grew up in and love.
@DAGB, you said, “As far as Mental health, lol everyone has a mental health issue when they receive a jail house stay”.
Part of the problem is we have Mental Health patients or people who should be mental health patients ending up in jail because they aren’t getting the mental health treatment or medications that they need. That also makes them difficult to handle as prisoners when they need medications they can’t get and you have Corrections Officers who aren’t trained or don’t have the tools they need to be able to deal with that kind of prisoner.
There really isn’t anything funny about it or cost effective about it when we have people get out of jail with the same problem that got them there in the first place, only to be biding time before they end up back in the court system and back in prison.
The Jail was under staffed even under McNesby. I think that part of the problem is the schedule that the Detention Deputies have. They work 12 hour shifts that flip flop within the same week from 7am to 7pm and 7pm to 7am. My husband was a Detention Deputy for a few years at the Main Jail and it was the unhealtiest time of his life. The stress of the job combined with the stress of the schedule, well I just don’t understand why they don’t go to 4 10’s like the Deputies. In my opinion, I think that a lot can be done to improve the working conditions for both Detention and road Deputies. Starting to appreciate the job they do for our community would be a nice start.
Most of the commentators seem to have really short memories for what was going on 4 years ago when Morgan took office. He walked in the door to the County screaming for budget cuts due to an economic crash that started in 2008.
He also did some cleaning up by way of auditing at the ECSO and got rid of a crooked book keeper.
As far as his administration being top heavy, please, draw out in a family tree fashion why it is top heavy. He’s getting the job done and part of that is in organizing the ECSO to be able to manage each department. I’m sure if he didn’t have to sleep like the rest of us, he could do with less upper level management.
He’s done a lot of community out reach, especially by way Neighborhood watch groups that have grown from about 15 to probably some where around 120 through the county.
As far as him blaming Ronny Mac, I’ve never heard him do that, so I don’t know what some folks are referencing and I don’t know what the Census of the jail was under Ronnie Mac and if it was understaffed or if the population has increased, but what ever it was under Ronnie Mac is what it was for what ever the reasons were and now he’s trying to get it right. Where’s the problem with that?
I bet if he is able to hire 80 more people, some of them will need to be supervisors or managers and you need department heads to manage a department or you don’t have over sight and then you have problems.
@ Dave
I would assume you are or have ties to law enforcement. I would rather have Patrol and Corrections adequately staffed. Protecting inmates from one another is second to Officer Safety. Its just as difficult within the two divisions to operate short handed. So weighing options should not differ in whether your Patrol Officer goes home at the end of shift or the Corrections . Sheriff it takes both sides to keep the operation flowing. Seems to me the Sheriff knew what the report was going to say and played his hand with asking for more money, , not that the findings were a surprise. As far as Mental health, lol everyone has a mental health issue when they receive a jail house stay. BOCC running the jail , now that’s funny. Wait for it!!!
How does being segregated make the white inmates feel?
I do not feel discriminated against by being isolated from other groups, why should other groups feel discriminated against by being isolated from me.?
strange
Too many bad people in one place.
Better than them being all over but rough on all.
Wish people were better.
Good thing I have never chosen to be put in jail.
@ Citizen,
What would you rather have, Ten patrol officers on the street protecting you and your family or 10 corrections officers inside the jail keep the prisoners safe from each other? Sheriff Morgan has been asking for more staff since he was elected. I think that weighing his options, his choice for a safer community outweighs the jail situation. If the prisoners don’t like the conditions…dont break the law…seems simple enough to me.
a personal experience of one of my adult children (with serious medical/psych problem): picked up by ECSO for an outstanding warrant on friday- staff withheld critical medications “until seen by doctor on monday”, despite urgent pleas that w/o daily medication, grandmal seizures WILL occur- per staff, “oh, you can go several days without your meds- it stays in your system” …to make a long story short, the grandmal seizure (with ground level head trauma/hematoma) and multiple corresponding neuro changes with memory loss did, indeed, happen over the weekend- spent about 5 days in their infirmary without a CT of the head while meds were restarted- but to only half of the correct dosages- initially, i had no intention of bailing my kid out, however, i was left without a choice, as the real possibility of an undiagnosed/untreated subdural hematoma existed- (the kid couldnt remember my phone number until friday)….so, when i found out, i had to get the kid out and go immediately to the hospital for a CT of the head. (at taxpayers expense).. 5 days AFTER the seizure/head trauma and BEFORE they would release the kid to me, they XRAYED the head- that was a useless proceedure at that juncture….all of this could have easily been avoided had their policy for inmates with medical issues been sufficient…months later, the kid re-entered the system- it was a completely different scenario and the medical staff did an excellent job, i am very pleased to report- ..despite the previous events, i (and my kid) still support sheriff morgan and his efforts to improve the jail system.
Sheriff Morgan hopes to use that letter to strong arm the county commission but most of the failures at the jail are his fault. He’s known for years what was wrong and has done little even things which cost nothing like desegregating inmates. Don’t let him get away with blaming anyone else but himself.
Since the county commission holds the purse strings, give the jail back to the board of county commissioners to run. Then we can sit back and wait for the federal lawsuit!
I’m glad it took the Sheriff only four years to figure out he needed to stop separating blacks from whites. He can’t blame McNesby when he allowed it for four years. He also can’t blame McNesby for the lack of Mental Health treatment either. Morgans Jail leaders have failed to track violence including assaults, not McNesby. I’m waiting to hear Morgan try and still blame past Sheriffs for the issues at the jail. He needs to remember that he’s in his second term now. It’s his leadership that owns this now. Morgan himself allowed his Chief [Aiken} to take positions [ 10 of them ] from the jail and use them to hire 10 more Patrol Officers never giving them back. When are you folks going to realize this man is full of hot air? Thanks for the reporting Wiliiam.
‘Woeful conditions’? ‘Violations of Constitutional Rights’?
Didn’t see anything about bugs, filth, nasty food, torture, strange disappearances, etc.
They have job openings but no one seems to want them. I can’t say it is an attractive job.
Lowest paid deputies and corrections officers in the state and nation. That, met with no raise in 7 years, as well as 30+ deputy openings and 40+ CO openings, create great employee morale. Thank you sheriff Morgan for doing what you campaigned for. Higher pay, better transparency… With your very TOP heavy administration. Too many “chiefs” and not enough “Indians”