Hinds County officials respond to DOJ jail findings

Hinds County officials said immediate actions are being taken to address the concerns raised in a report by the U.S. Department of Justice on the status of the troubled jail facilities in Jackson and Raymond.

Those actions include raising the pay of jail employees, hiring a criminal justice coordinator who will expedite inmates' journey through the court system, and reconsidering a contract with the city of Jackson to house some of its detainees.

The department, which launched its investigation after a series of violent incidents occurred over a three-year period at the jail, found that the facilities are "in crisis."

The report, released last week, highlighted staffing problems and a failure on the part of the county to protect prisoners' constitutional rights, leaving them vulnerable to violence by other prisoners and improper use of force by staffers. Many prisoners are also detained beyond their court-ordered release dates, according to the report.

Supervisor Tony Greer also mentioned the possibility of building a new facility, which he estimated would cost around $30 to $45 million.

The 594-bed facility in Raymond was built in 1994, and the 192-bed facility in Jackson was built in 1974.

When the current administration came in, Greer said, $1 million was allocated to jail improvements without raising taxes.

"If, at the end of the day, we have to look at building a new facility, that will require a whole different approach to financing," Greer said.

When asked whether that meant a tax increase, he said he did not know at this point.

Sheriff Tyrone Lewis said his department is working with the board to increase the salaries of corrections officers, who currently make about $1,200 to $1,300 per month after taxes, retirement and insurance are taken out.

"There's still a lot of work to do with staffing due to the pool of candidates we have to draw from in the metro area," Lewis said.

Current improvements to the Raymond facility, including fixing ceilings, doors and locks are also near completion, Lewis said.

Board of Supervisors President Peggy Hobson Calhoun also noted that the way the facility was originally designed, detention officers are in the same areas as the inmates and unable to observe every cell.

"A more safe, secure design is an indirect supervision style facility where the employees are separated from the inmates in an enclosed area and have full view of every inmate in every pod," she described. "We are working toward that goal with each new pod being repaired, but we now have the detention officers sitting behind a caged area to separate them from the inmates."

The DOJ's investigation, authorized under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), involved a review of documents, including policies and procedures, incident reports, grievances, legal complaints and grand jury inspection reports. The department also interviewed jail administrators, staff, prisoners, county officials and various criminal justice stakeholders.

If county officials have not satisfactorily addressed the concerns outlined in the letter to the county after 49 days, the Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit pursuant to CRIPA.

"There's still a lot of work to do, but we've accomplished a lot as well," Supervisor Darrel McQuirter said.

Contact Kate Royals at (601) 360-4619 or kroyals@gannett.com. Follow @KRRoyals on Twitter.