Dallas County Jail Receives Failing Grade
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POSTED: 11:59 am CST March 4, 200512:36 pm CST March 4, 2005
UPDATED:DALLAS -- Investigators said serious safety, security and health concerns are to blame for the Dallas County Jail receiving a failing grade during a recent survey. Now, the jail is forced to make some major changes.
The state jail commission conducted interviews with jail staff as well as tests of facilities and equipment. The study found the jail is deficient in several areas. Recently, the jail has also been scrutinzed for poor response rates to health issues.
Officials said inmates who ask for medical care are not being seen within the required 72 hours but instead they are treated, on average, six days later. Also, tuberculosis tests are not being administered within the required time.
Those are just two of the 11 deficiencies pointed out by the commission. Many of the other problems stem from issues in the holding cells.
Inspectors said that inmates are kept in cells longer than the allowed 48 hours and that the intake area, designed to hold 63 inmates, usually holds up to 350 at a time.
County officials said the problems all point to shortages in staffing and money and that if the problems aren't fixed there could be sanctions imposed on the facility.
"The extreme is, they can shut us down," said Chief Dep. Edgar McMillian.
Inspectors also found safety concerns such as a lack of fire resistent mattress covers, inadequate smoke management systems and a faulty intercom system. County officials said it could cost several million dollars to fix everything.
"Every cell has to be retrofitted. So, you're talking in the west tower of over 700-plus cells," said McMillan.
This is the second consecutive year that the county system has failed inspection, and once again the county is left with 30 days to respond.
It's not likely, but the worst-case scenario is that the jail could be shut down and inmates moved to other county institutions.
Copyright 2005 by nbc5i.com.
