County and state officials met last week to address the growing concerns over the DeKalb County Jail Annex and the requirements to correct deficiencies with the building that may at some point result in a decertification of the facility. One of the biggest issues is the old section of the jail, in the basement of the facility, where some 20 prisoners are housed.
During the meeting, Sheriff Patrick Ray, county commissioners and County Mayor Matt Adcock met with Bob Bass, Deputy Director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI), and Jim Hart, Jail Consultant and Field Manager of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS). Bass and Hart updated officials on the specific problems related to the jail building, and what TCI expects of the county in meeting standards.
The mission of TCI and CTAS is mostly advisory, and it’s up to the county commission to decide on a specific course of action, whether it be future construction of a new jail or criminal justice center, or expansion of the existing facility.
“The particular standards you are in trouble with are physical plant,” Bass explained. “How the jail was built. It has nothing to do with what the sheriff’s department has done or the staff when it comes to operation. In fact, it’s one of the cleanest jails I have been in. Even the part you shouldn’t be operating (the oldest building) is clean and well organized. You just don’t meet TCI standards in some areas.”
“Your jail is in trouble because of the housing units,” Bass continued. “You are housing people in the basement with twenty beds, which don’t meet standards, and you have some makeshift cells down there and when they are no longer in use, which may occur after our next inspection cycle, that will bring your total bed count down to around 85, which will probably put you immediately over (capacity).”
“That basement has no natural light. You must have skylight. Windows that produce natural light. You must have an 8-foot ceiling height. Your basement ceiling is 7 feet, 6 inches. It’s not sprinkled. Sprinklers are not part of our standards unless you are building a new facility, but old facilities like yours are not grandfathered in, and you have a cage down there which serves as a makeshift cell for trustees with a 12-inch gap on top of it. That is unauthorized housing. An inmate could come over that gap and have access to appliances, water heater, chemicals, etc.,” said Bass.
Bass explained that the basement cells each have 10 beds, but the square footage only exists for six inmates. The cells also have porcelain sinks and toilets, but the state requires stainless steel. The cells also have no floor drains and conduit is exposed. Cells for females in another part of the jail have similar issues.
In jail annex, which was constructed in 2001, there are 46 beds, but with adequate space for only 32 inmates.
Bass explained that new and existing facilities must have at least a minimum size multiple-occupancy cell for 2-64 occupants with twenty-five square feet of clear floor space for each occupant in the sleeping areas, and a ceiling elevation of not less than eight feet. At least thirty-five square feet of clear floor space must be provided for each occupant when the occupant is confined for more than ten hours per day.
“Your population is growing and as your community grows, chances are you will need a bigger jail. Of course, any given day you could be overcrowded for various reasons. In 2018, our inspection showed you had 90 inmates. In 2019 there were 107. After COVID you were back up to 77 inmates in 2021 and 99 in 2022 with 102 beds total capacity for 78 males and 24 females,” said Bass.
With the concerns over the jail, the county initiated a long-term plan of action three years ago through a partnership with TCI and CTAS in order to keep the jail state certified until deficiencies are addressed. Through the plan the sheriff has to submit monthly progress reports to TCI on what measurable progress is being done by the county to eventually make the jail compliant with the standards established by the state. Immediately after forming the partnership, the county requested that CTAS conduct a feasibility study of the jail operation, which has been done that counts toward the ‘measurable progress’ requirement as do meetings with TCI and CTAS like the one held by the county.
“It’s going to be a long process. It’s not something you do in one or two meetings. There will be deliberations for probably at least twelve to sixteen months before decisions are made,” Bass continued. He suggested that the county commission start thinking about developing a master plan.
“A master plan would allow us to set up those steps to identify where you want to be six months from now, finding out cost factors and things like that, finding the property to put it (building project) on and all along the way the county commission could vote to either move forward or stop. There is no specific time limit. It takes time to get these things done. You could be in a plan of action three years. If you made a decision to build a jail tonight just in the design phase alone it would be a year so that plan of action is a good thing to have and as long as you have it and show measurable progress, we are not going to take away your certification,” said Bass.
Although jails in Tennessee may operate without state certification Bass said he doesn’t recommend it because of the risk of liability and lawsuits against the county.
