Post by SoulTrainOz on Jun 26, 2006 20:32:21 GMT -5
State standards are sufficient,
Texas official says
An advocacy group is questioning whether state jail standards are tough enough after federal marshals found shoddy living conditions at the Nueces County Jail.
The U.S. Marshals Service removed 55 prisoners from the jail after
conducting inspections June 7 and 14 and finding gnats crawling from drains and biting prisoners, overflowing toilets and other unsanitary conditions.
The jail has passed state inspections since at least 2000, according to records obtained under the Texas Freedom of Information Act.
The marshals' pulling prisoners out "raises a flag as to whether or not our jail standards in Texas are meeting a community standard of care," said Nicole Porter, director of the Texas American Civil Liberties Union Prison and Jail Accountability Project. "(State standards) might not be the ideal measure for some of these correctional facilities."
Terry Julian, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail
Standards, said conditions at the Nueces County Jail could have changed since the last inspection in August. Julian also said state standards are sufficient to ensure safe jails.
Standards call for a daily cleaning schedule, toilet and shower
maintenance and preventative maintenance to ensure a safe and sanitary facility. All inmates also must have a mattress and one or more blankets.
State jail standards
Texas law requires, among other minimum standards:
- Serving food 3 times in a 24-hour period, with not more than 14 hours between meals without supplemental food.
- Each inmate will be issued: 1 mattress, 1 sheet or mattress cover, 1 towel and 1 or more blankets.
- Maintenance of toilets, lavatories, showers and other equipment in good working order.
- Regular daily schedule for cleaning, assigned and supervised by
corrections officers responsible for keeping the jail clean and making regular sanitation inspections.
- Mattresses must be swept, aired, sprayed with disinfectant and stored off the ground until reissue.
- Food preparation areas inspected at least annually by health officials.
- Preventative maintenance, including necessary repairs, to ensure a safe, secure and sanitary jail.
- Access to sunlight for at least one hour weekly for inmates held more than 10 days.
- An exercise plan and access to physical activity for inmates for 1 hour at least 3 days a week.
- A change of clothing at least once a week, unless work, climate or illness requires more.
(source: Texas Commission on Jail Standards)
**
Photos taken at the Nueces County Jail on June 7 during an inspection by the U.S. Marshals Service showed moldy showers, exposed wiring, clogged toilets, peeling paint and inmates sleeping on the floor without mattresses.
Unsanitary jails are a public health concern because of possible
infections such as staph or tuberculosis, Porter said.
"The people who are detained in jails are going to be released in to the general public pretty regularly," she said.
Porter said she also wonders whether annual inspections, as required by state law, can catch all possible violations.
"The jail might have been in compliance on that day, but the jail operates 365 days a year," she said.
The state commission can conduct surprise evaluations if complaints or other issues arise. Julian would not say whether the Nueces County Jail would have a surprise inspection.
"If we find there are problems, we can certainly decertify the jail and there are other things we can do," Julian said.
The state commission can take away certificates for jails to operate if deficiencies are not fixed after an inspection. State law requires jail officials to correct problems in a reasonable amount of time, which must be 1 year or less as set by the commission.
If standards aren't met then, the state can close a jail, remove inmates from a portion of the jail and order prisoners transferred. As of May, 18 jails were closed in Texas, 26 were non-compliant with standards and 225 met standards, according to state commission records.
Sheriff Rebecca Stutts has said state standards are detailed, and it is "very telling" that the Nueces County Jail is in compliance.
State inspection reports dating back to 2000 show two deficiencies in the Nueces County Jail that later were cleared, and the jail passed all inspections.
In April 2001, state officials found the holding and detoxification cells crowded with 124 inmates, 54 above capacity. A follow-up inspection in July cleared the jail.
In 2004, a July inspection found deficiencies in life safety equipment or drills, but the jail was reinspected and certified the next month.
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
Texas official says
An advocacy group is questioning whether state jail standards are tough enough after federal marshals found shoddy living conditions at the Nueces County Jail.
The U.S. Marshals Service removed 55 prisoners from the jail after
conducting inspections June 7 and 14 and finding gnats crawling from drains and biting prisoners, overflowing toilets and other unsanitary conditions.
The jail has passed state inspections since at least 2000, according to records obtained under the Texas Freedom of Information Act.
The marshals' pulling prisoners out "raises a flag as to whether or not our jail standards in Texas are meeting a community standard of care," said Nicole Porter, director of the Texas American Civil Liberties Union Prison and Jail Accountability Project. "(State standards) might not be the ideal measure for some of these correctional facilities."
Terry Julian, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail
Standards, said conditions at the Nueces County Jail could have changed since the last inspection in August. Julian also said state standards are sufficient to ensure safe jails.
Standards call for a daily cleaning schedule, toilet and shower
maintenance and preventative maintenance to ensure a safe and sanitary facility. All inmates also must have a mattress and one or more blankets.
State jail standards
Texas law requires, among other minimum standards:
- Serving food 3 times in a 24-hour period, with not more than 14 hours between meals without supplemental food.
- Each inmate will be issued: 1 mattress, 1 sheet or mattress cover, 1 towel and 1 or more blankets.
- Maintenance of toilets, lavatories, showers and other equipment in good working order.
- Regular daily schedule for cleaning, assigned and supervised by
corrections officers responsible for keeping the jail clean and making regular sanitation inspections.
- Mattresses must be swept, aired, sprayed with disinfectant and stored off the ground until reissue.
- Food preparation areas inspected at least annually by health officials.
- Preventative maintenance, including necessary repairs, to ensure a safe, secure and sanitary jail.
- Access to sunlight for at least one hour weekly for inmates held more than 10 days.
- An exercise plan and access to physical activity for inmates for 1 hour at least 3 days a week.
- A change of clothing at least once a week, unless work, climate or illness requires more.
(source: Texas Commission on Jail Standards)
**
Photos taken at the Nueces County Jail on June 7 during an inspection by the U.S. Marshals Service showed moldy showers, exposed wiring, clogged toilets, peeling paint and inmates sleeping on the floor without mattresses.
Unsanitary jails are a public health concern because of possible
infections such as staph or tuberculosis, Porter said.
"The people who are detained in jails are going to be released in to the general public pretty regularly," she said.
Porter said she also wonders whether annual inspections, as required by state law, can catch all possible violations.
"The jail might have been in compliance on that day, but the jail operates 365 days a year," she said.
The state commission can conduct surprise evaluations if complaints or other issues arise. Julian would not say whether the Nueces County Jail would have a surprise inspection.
"If we find there are problems, we can certainly decertify the jail and there are other things we can do," Julian said.
The state commission can take away certificates for jails to operate if deficiencies are not fixed after an inspection. State law requires jail officials to correct problems in a reasonable amount of time, which must be 1 year or less as set by the commission.
If standards aren't met then, the state can close a jail, remove inmates from a portion of the jail and order prisoners transferred. As of May, 18 jails were closed in Texas, 26 were non-compliant with standards and 225 met standards, according to state commission records.
Sheriff Rebecca Stutts has said state standards are detailed, and it is "very telling" that the Nueces County Jail is in compliance.
State inspection reports dating back to 2000 show two deficiencies in the Nueces County Jail that later were cleared, and the jail passed all inspections.
In April 2001, state officials found the holding and detoxification cells crowded with 124 inmates, 54 above capacity. A follow-up inspection in July cleared the jail.
In 2004, a July inspection found deficiencies in life safety equipment or drills, but the jail was reinspected and certified the next month.
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)