Jim Hart, Interim Manager and Jail Management Consultant for County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS), reviewed the Union County Jail Needs Assessment for the joint meeting of the UC Jail Committee and the UC Commission on Thursday, February 1.
Hart noted several challenges in the current jail. The jail is an aging facility that regularly exceeds its maximum capacity of 76 inmates. He explained that the jail is considered overcrowded at 85% capacity or 64 inmates.
The jail lacks adequate housing and space to address inmate needs. There is not a proper intake area. The jail has a nurse on duty 24/7 but no space for medical exams. No perimeter security exists. No program space is available to offer support services, job training and life skills. Inmates are asked if they are homeless or a veteran but limited to no services are offered due to lack of resources and lack of space.
Hart complimented the sheriff and the jail staff for moving prisoners through the justice system at an efficient rate and the judge for personally interviewing each inmate. He noted that 52% of the inmates spend less than one day incarcerated and another 25% are in jail less than seven days. Most inmates are released on time served at the court date.
Hart recommended that the new jail have space to house from 137 to 160 inmates. The jail should have an arraignment space, medical space, sheriff's office, other administrative offices, an intake room and a sally port to securely receive inmates, a space for visitation and laundry and kitchen facilities.
He also recommended that the jail committee be expanded to a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) with regular meetings to ensure that all stakeholders, from judges to the sheriff to citizens, are represented, and a broad spectrum of services can be explored and offered to provide the best chance of meeting the inmate needs and ultimately reducing the number of incarcerations.
He commended the sheriff for agreeing to support the court docket by providing an emailed list of inmates in custody reflecting their names, booking date, and if possible, the charges booked on to the Sessions Judge, District Attorney, and Public Defender mid to late afternoon the day before Sessions Court days.
In addition, Hart suggested the hiring of a population management specialist answering daily who is in jail, why are they in jail, what are their needs, and what is their status, as well as maintaining data and statistics to drive decisions making by the CJCC.
Lastly, Hart recommended that the next step commission should take is to develop a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an architect.
Bob Bass, Deputy Director for Tennessee Correction Institute (TCI), explained that the RFQ would be a positive step toward meeting the Plan of Correction under which the jail is operating. Mayor Jason Bailey explained that the commission could review the qualifications and recommend an architect, but the final decision for hiring the architect would be the purchasing agent of Central Finance.
Since the meeting was a workshop, action on the RFQ will be considered at the regular Union County Commission meeting on Monday, February 26, at 7 p.m.