Jail

03/11/22

Proactive vs reactive? This is the first in the series. Mentioned yesterday 3/10:

Election Issue: Detention Facility

Candidate: Jones

Date/General idea of posting

02/01/22: Installed Kiosks for jail.

Provides 3rd party mail scanning (not operational)

Visitation

Commissary

Promises to always be proactive in duties.

Community partnership

Election Issue: Detention Facility

Candidate: Cook

Date/General idea of posting

01/17/22: Need Kiosks with email/mail and visitation.

3rd party mail. Keeps drugs out.

(Jones had already worked on this see above. Good idea)

01/14/22: Failed to follow MCSO policy on inmate transportation.

Not armed.

Non-certified civilians are assisting.

I will not put county into a position of liability.

01/03/22: Would like to add magnetometer to jail.

Search all who enter facility (beyond lobby).

12/16/21: Jail conditions are deplorable.

Mold.

Plumbing ignored until it requires 180k repairs.

Short Staffed. Safety issue for inmates and staff.

We are mandated to run the jail.

09/06/21: Inmates (specifically veterans)

Institute policy of required all inmates to be asked “Did you serve?”

Yes triggers call to the Veteran’s Service Officers

VSO will then visit all veterans.

Ensure homeless vets are aware of the HUD VASH program. (Housing vouchers).

08/30/21: Inmate rehab program.

Medically Assisted Treatment program.

Reduction in overdoses.

Reduction in repeat offenders. (Buncombe county reduced repeat offenders by 17%.)

Benefits of drug court.

08/22/21: Inmate population.

08/22/21: Trustees.

Sit down with leadership team to discus program.

Establish rules. (can non sentenced waiver)

This is the first of the series. Note that even though Captain Jones is over the jail, he has only posted once about the issues that need to be fixed. The remainder of the opponents have completely ignored the highest liability area we as a Sheriff’s Office have responsibility for.

Undated:

One of the first things I will do once elected is determine the feasibility of using civilians to operate the control room. Currently there are deputies performing this function leaving the shift short on the number of people required to run the jail. Doing this will enable deputies to perform other duties that are required to be performed by a deputy.

I noticed that the jail instituted a new communication system within the jail. While it does not replace face to face, non-contact visitation, it will make it easier with the utilization of the kiosk. I was told that this had been a long time coming and I am happy to see some modernization occurring.

I was talking to someone about this system, so I could understand it better, and was told there are other companies that may be a better fit for what we need. Some research revealed a couple companies that offer communication services to jails. One that I was told about seemed to be something I would be interested in researching a bit more once elected. They offer services that include the kiosk system similar to what we have just instituted. Additionally they offer inmate tamper proof tablets that are designed specifically for the inmate environment as well as commissary services. Another company had a service that handled the non-privileged incoming mail. Using this service would cut down virtually all importation of drugs into the jail through the mail. The mail would be mailed to a location outside of the jail, scanned and emailed to the recipient. The most important savings would be the reduction of inmates using drugs inside the jail.

My goal is to provide the inmates with the services we are required to while providing a safe environment for them and our deputies. Streamlining the process will save your tax money and make a more efficient use of our assets.

This is forward thinking by a candidate who has the experience to operate the Sheriff’s Office in an efficient manner. I will always be looking for new and innovative ways to improve the services we provide.

9/9/21

This Monday I would like to discuss inmates again. But this is a certain category of inmate. I am referring to those who have served our country in the military.

If I am fortunate enough to be your Sheriff, I will be directing my Jail staff to develop and implement a policy directed at those who have served our country, but have for some reason fallen. Many of our veterans that end up in our system suffer from various mental health, medical, addiction or homelessness issues. I want to make sure they are offered the assistance they bought with their service.

After speaking with the Veteran’s Service Office (VSO) folks, I was informed they feel it would be helpful if an inmate was asked the question “have you ever served in the military?” If they answer in the affirmative I will direct a call be placed to the Veteran’s Service Office by the on duty jail staff (voicemail will be left if after hours). They will be provided with the name and branch of service of the inmate so they may be able to begin the process to determine what, if any, services they qualify for. They advised they would visit the inmate to determine any service related issues and begin the process to submit claims if appropriate.

I was advised that there is a program for those veterans who are homeless called U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD-VASH) Program. This is a program where vouchers are available to assist the vet in obtaining housing. This is one of the programs the VSO’s may be able to offer a veteran. If we can reduce the revolving door of crimes some inmates seem to be stuck in, the citizens of Macon county will be the winner as a result of reduced costs and crime.

This is an example of how we as a forward thinking Sheriff’s Office can show compassion for those in our system while ensuring we are upholding the law. Reducing our overburdened jail population while ensuring our county is the safest it can possibly be is what being leadership tested and experience proven is all about.

08/30/21

I have been giving some thought to the inmate population. As I have said in prior proposals, I want to do what I can to keep inmate populations manageable. The first thing I would do is sit down with my leadership team and discuss their recommendations on who will be the next jail administrator. Once that person is identified, he or she will be added to any discussion that is conducted in reference to all jail policies.

I have been researching the subject of inmate trustees. The MCSO did have a trustee program but it has been suspended for some time. I would like to look at reinstating it. Of course there would be some changes and strengthening to the current policies. I would make the program apply only to the interior of the jail. Currently there is such a shortfall in personnel that an outside trustee program would not be possible. The benefits of a trustee program are many. A trustee would be utilized to clean the interior of the jail and to perform small maintenance issues that occur. No inmates will be paid for the work they do.

There would be strict procedures that would be required to be followed.

The benefits of using the trustees to include, but are not limited to the following:

- They get a sense of accomplishment.

- It makes time go by faster for them.

- They have incentives to follow all of the rules.

- It gives inmates some structure to their day.

- I give them time outside their cell.

To quote Sheriff Holland, “The average individual person in our community works 2,080 hours a year in a full time paid position plus benefits that come with being an employee. So, with the use of inmates who are often referred to as “TRUSTEES” this means it would take NINE full time paid individuals to replace what “TRUSTEES” do for free for the citizens of Macon County.” I believe this is a significant savings and with some changes, the program could work. This is in line with my pledge to run the office with increased efficiency and never forget this is taxpayers money.

I am trying to reduce the amount of time it takes to read these informative proposals. If you are interested, I have more to share on this subject.

01/14/22

Interesting fact. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office has a policy in regards to transportation of inmates. It says they will have a transportation team to move inmates between the jail and any other facility. It says the transportation team must be a detention officer who has completed the requirements to be certified and completed the state detention officers class. Additionally, they must have completed and be current with firearms qualifications. The policy also delineates how many transportation officers will accompany the inmate and if there is an opposite sex the transportation officer must be that same sex (I.e. female). I am told this is not happening. I also know that there is a civilian that frequently fills in for a transportation officer. This civilian has no qualifications to do so and is being placed in danger while acting in that capacity. We will get into the civilian contract company making medical and involuntary commitments at a later date.

As I posted yesterday, policies are there to protect us, the citizens, from large civil payouts resulting from lawsuits. You need a Sheriff that won’t needlessly place his Office in a position of liability. I am that Sheriff.

12/16/21

The jail conditions are deplorable. We are not running a hotel, but if we don’t get a handle on the conditions inside the facility, one day someone will sue us. Then the courts may force it on us with little time to plan costing us more than it should.

I am being told there are mold issues, certainly staffing issues and little opportunities for the inmates to even get outside more than once a month. It appears that we are getting ready to spend $180,000.00 to repair and replace the plumbing issues. With all of the applications they have reportedly received after the pay raises, why haven’t they hired enough staff to ensure all shifts have enough staff? It takes time to get fully qualified. Why wait? This is an issue that directly relates to the safety of the inmates and staff. We are mandated by statute to perform only a few tasks. This is one of them. The deputies that work there are doing so much with so little, they need help. The leadership needs to get a handle on this. This does not rest solely on the shoulders of the jail administrator, but the leadership as a whole. As Sheriff, I will fix this.

09/06/21

This Monday I would like to discuss inmates again. But this is a certain category of inmate. I am referring to those who have served our country in the military.

After speaking with the Veteran’s Service Office (VSO) folks, I was informed they feel it would be helpful if an inmate was asked the question “have you ever served in the military?” If they answer in the affirmative I will direct a call be placed to the Veteran’s Service Office by the on duty jail staff (voicemail will be left if after hours). They will be provided with the name and branch of service of the inmate so they may be able to begin the process to determine what, if any, services the inmate may qualify for. (Particularly mental and medical benefits) They advised they would then visit the inmate to determine if any service related issues are present and begin the process to submit claims if appropriate.

I was advised there is a program for those veterans who are homeless called the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD-VASH) Program. This is a program where vouchers are available to assist the vet in obtaining housing. Once the veteran is released they may be provided one of these vouchers so they may be able to begin the transition back into society. This is one of the programs the VSO’s may be able to offer a veteran. If we can reduce the revolving door of crimes some inmates seem to be stuck in, the citizens of Macon county will be the winner as a result of reduced costs and crime.

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