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Show Report says lawsuits possible Jail presents legal problems By BKL'CK LEE Record Editor The first report on the Iron County Jail is in. and the message it gives is very clear: Iron County officials need to move quickly on building a new facility, or lace a host of possible legal problems down the road. "Report I: Survey and Evaluation." the lirst report in six planned on the old jail and the possibility of a new one was presented to the Iron County Commission Com-mission last week by S. Garth Jones, chairman of the County Jail Advisory Committee. The report was put together by DcLand and Associates of Salt Lake City at the request of the committee which is studying the possibility of building a new lacility. and points out a number of serious problems with the old building. The survey was quick to point out that the staff at the jail does lairly well under the circumstances, but certainly more stall members and more training are needed, especially in a building organized in such a way as the current 4U-ycar-old lacility. The bottom line of the report comes in the opening pages: "The jail is below-standard below-standard lor both new and existing lacihties. This report will show that this jail cannot be run to ellectively meet constitutional jail standards or long protect against civil liability litigation against Iron County officials." One ol the major problems the report mentioned ' was the small stall size and the inadequacy ol training provided the jailors. There is currently only one man on at a time, causing signilicant problems, said the report, because prisoners are housed on two different floors of the building. The report made some "general recommendations" that could help soke the problem. first, "both male and female officers are required li lemale arrestees are to be boused or booked uind. of course, searched i m (he proposed or existing Iron ( 'omit Jail." Second, "stall size must be adequate to ensure security of the jail and its stall and salety lor inmates. Third, allhough the report admitted lack ol enough inlormalion to suggest ill stalling positions needed, it noted lli.il .i minimum stall would be a jail commander and eight personnel ifour men .mil loiir women i on a rotating shilt. "The study team will work with Sherilf ilrai Schoppman. the County Commission and the Jail Advisory Committee to maximize the use of jail officers, ensuring that no positions will be suggested that are not essential, and that various alternatives to meet jail stalling needs are explored." the report promised. Concerning the need lor lemale staff members, the report said that "the problem must be addressed . . . must in lad. be solved prior to the staffing of a new jail. Potential security problems and liability problems exist which can be solved only with the addition of lemale stall memlx'rs. The report also pointed out that those working at the jail lacked the guidelines see JAIL on page A:' Jfl.il continued from page Al and help of a policy and procedure manual and a set of rules for inmates. "The lack of a policy and procedures manual in a jail with mostly untrained officers creates tremendous civil liablility potential. . . . The danger to the County and its officials is probably higher here than anywhere else," it warned. The report stressed repeatedly that such a manual must be adopted for any new facility and should be adopted even sooner. "Jail officers, acting without some direction as to what must, or must not be done, can easily, and without intent, violate the rights of inmates many times during the course of a day's work," it concluded. On a related note the report pointed out that those working at the jail really hadn't had adequate training in most cases. "Training of 40 hours minimum should be provided each year to each officer. That training should not await the opening of a new jail. It should begin as soon as possible," it advised. The report also noted that there are no fire, escape or riot contingency plans. With the lack of staffing manpower man-power and the physical layout of the building, this could cause definite problems in the future. However, not everything in the report was negative. It was quite laudatory ol the staff and the way things were generally handled, under the conditions of a a poor building and understaffing. The report was also generally complimentary to the way cases are routed and prosecuted in the County Although there are problems, the report said, the majority of the data was favorable, |