Committee Members:
Sheriff William Farmer, Jr. – Chairperson, Sumter County
Sheriff Mark Hunter – Columbia County
Sheriff Wayne Ivey – Brevard County – Not Present
Commissioner Guy Tunnell – Bay County
Acting Director Mark Flowers – Volusia County
Attendees:
Welcome: Sheriff Farmer welcomed everyone and thanked them for their attendance.
Established Quorum
James Aguiar established a quorum.
Legal Notifications
James Aguiar established that the proper legal notifications had been made.
Pledge of Allegiance
The Sumter County Color Guard posted the colors. Sheriff Farmerled everyone in the invocation and James Aguiar led everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Sheriff Farmer stated it was the first time he has chaired this meeting and asked everyone to be patient with him. He stated it was a learning process. Sheriff Farmer stated that if there were any smokers in the meeting, to go out the door indicated and there were couches and tables at the lake. He stated that restrooms were across the hall for both men and women. Sheriff Farmer also stated they were going to go through the recommended changes as quickly as possible, but if anyone needed a break, they were welcome to get coffee and Danishes that were provided.
OLD BUSINESS:
Standard 9.06 -
Isaiah Dennard, Florida Sheriff’s Association – Mr. Dennard stated that at the last meeting, Sheriff Ivey asked for a definition of what would be a recreation yard/recreation area. He stated that he would like to withdraw that discussion. Mr. Dennard stated that Lieutenant Gaudette would be submitting a new change so it would come under new business.
Mr. Dennard stated that he wanted to discuss the Committee function in which the FSA and FMJS Committee came up with an awards programs for FMJS inspectors. Mr. Dennard stated they have several categories for example Chairman Award, Inspector of the Year. He stated that after this meeting, Mr. Aguiar would meet with the Chair and form a letter to send out to all the jail directors and the Sheriffs so nominations may start being received.
NEW BUSINESS:
Standard 1.38–
Presenter- Lieutenant Joe Gaudette
Standard: Definition – Recreation Area – Any secure area (indoor/outdoor) designated to be used for inmate exercise or recreation activities.
Proposal: Any secure area (indoor/outdoor) designated to be used for inmate exercise or recreation activitiesother than a dayroom or multipurpose room.
Rationale: Lieutenant Gaudette stated it puts the onus on the agency to define what they constitute an indoor area by definition without involving Florida Model Jail Standards.
Discussion: After a small discussion by the Committee, it was determined that with this change they would leave it up to each individual agency to create their own definition.
Motion: There was motion to change the language by Sheriff Hunter, which was seconded by Director Flowers. No dissent. Motion Passes unanimously.
Standard: 2.07 and 2.08 – Presenter Isaiah Dennard
Proposal: 2.7 Within 14 days of completing an inspection of a facility, the FMJS Inspector shall forward a complete official report to the Officer-in Charge and the Sheriff who operates the jail. (See Adult Detention Facility Checklist and/or Medical Inspection Checklist). The report will contain checklists adequate to record whether or not the detention facility is in compliance with respect to the requirements of these standards. The Officer-in-Charge or designee will within 30 days after receipt of the inspection report forward a copy of the inspection report to the FMJS Chairperson. A copy of the inspection report and the Officer-in-Charge's response will then be forwarded to the County Commission within fourteen (14) days of completion. Inspection reports, responses, and all other reports or documents prepared by the FMJS Inspector(s) or Officer-in-Charge shall become public records, and shall be subject to review under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. For further see attachment.
Rationale:
Discussion: Mr. Dennard asked if it was permissible to recognize part of the taskforce and subcommittee members. He stated he wanted the audience to see who participates on these committees on a volunteer basis and they try to do the best they can for the jails in the state of Florida.
Mr. Dennard continued. He stated that one of the things they looked at the last task force meeting they had is the standards only calls for the submission of jail inspection report to the Chair once an inspection has been completed by the inspector, goes to the agency and the OIC in charge sends it to the funding source and sends it to the committee or committee Chair. Mr. Dennard stated it does not and it didn't state that the corrective action had to be a part of that final report and that probably was just an oversight on our part that was not required. When Captain Richards and her compliance team looks at these final reports they do point out they don’t have any corrective action. He stated the subcommittee decided for 2.7 and 2.8 to add that caveat in there. When those inspection reports are submitted to the Chair, that it includes the corrective action also.
Mr. Dennard stated that the subcommittee also may want to add some type of timeline for submission and a follow-up which would document where the facility was in the process and what they were doing for the corrective action.
Director Flowers stated he believed it was a good idea and a way of holding the facilities accountable. He stated that this was one of the things they struggled with early on was trying to get all of the facilities to report or to line up their inspections. He believed this gives the ability for better tracking.
Sheriff Hunter also agreed that this was a better check and balance system.
Sheriff Hunter stated that one of the main advantages of having that corrective action plan is when a committee member is replaced there is history of that document.
Motion: Sheriff Hunter made a motion to approve as written. Commissioner Tunnel seconded the motion. Hearing no dissent, the motion passed.
Standard: 8.05 and 12.09, Request for clarification
Proposal: Inmate clothing shall be clean upon entry or inmates shall be furnished clean clothing if kept beyond first appearance. Inmates shall be given the opportunity to have their clothing laundered or exchanged for clean clothing at least twice each week. All issued clothing shall be washed prior to reissue.Inmate held beyond first appearance shall be issued a clean uniform. Inmates shall be given the opportunity to have their clothing laundered or exchanged for clean uniform at least twice each week. All issued clothing shall be washed prior to reissue.
Rationale: Captain Beth Richards of Collier County requested a clarification of 8.05 and 12.9, which mentions personal clothing, however, does not identify what kind of clothing. She stated that one actually talks about uniforms and the other is personal clothing. Capt. Richards stated they expanded on the standard, but the rest of the standard remains intact, but in their opinion this makes it more consistent.
Discussion: Sheriff Farmer asked if this regulates to the cleanliness of the clothing and how often it is washed and laundered and Capt. Richards replied yes. She also stated this was to clarify, because it mentioned uniforms and personal clothing. Sheriff Farmer asked for any further input from the Committee.
Motion: Commissioner Tunnel motioned to accept as written, which was seconded byDirector Flowers. Hearing no dissent,Motion Passes unanimously.
Standard: 9.04 – Visiting
Presenter Commander Kevin McGowan, Collier County Sheriff’s Office
Proposal: All adult visitors shall be required to register and to record their name, address, and relationship to the inmate. The Officer-in-Charge or designee may reasonably require additional information if necessary in order to conduct that particular visit. Visitors may be searched if necessary to the security of the institution.
Rationale: Commander McGowan stated he added the word “adult” for two reasons. He stated that the majority of the jails are now going to automated record-keeping. He stated that not as much is done with handwritten paperwork any longer. He stated that quite a few agencies are going to card readers where the ID or driver’s license of the person who is visiting is swiped and the computer automatically fills in the fields for you. A juvenile cannot do this as they don’t have a driver’s license. Commander McGowan stated the second reason was that people over the age of 18, which is an adult as defined by statute, are signing documents that may state, “I agree to the rules and regulations of the standard because I am bringing in minor children.” He stated this one-word addition may help with the recordkeeping. Commander McGowan also stated there is a second line on the standard which states that the Sheriff or his designee may ask for more information.
Discussion: Sheriff Farmer asked about the parents who bring in children and if the adults don’t have licenses. Sheriff Farmer asked if the names of the juveniles are being recorded, and Commander McGowan stated that would be his recommendation. Sheriff Farmer stated he understood not requiring identification for juveniles as all they would have would be a birth certificate. Commander McGowan stated that they do not allow juveniles to visit unless accompanied by an adult who has proper identification. Director Flowers stated that he liked what it says about either requiring the registry of it or if they do a log and have to sign in, however, he stated that not all adults have a driver’s license and some have identification cards. Sheriff Hunter stated he just wanted to make sure there is some way to ask for additional information and the burden should be on the visitor for them to prove who they are when they come to a facility. Sheriff Hunter appreciated the fact that some thought went into this addition and he wanted to thank them for that. He stated that is the tough thing with this committee, to negotiate the gap between agencies that are high tech and those that are still doing paper logs.
Motion: Sheriff Hunter motioned to accept as written, which was seconded byDirector Flowers. Hearing no dissent,Motion Passes unanimously.
Standard: 9.06A - Exercise
Presenter -
Proposal: A. Inmates shall have the opportunity to have a minimum of 3 hours of outdoor exercise per week, in a recreation area weather permitting. Uncontrollable or violent inmates are not subject to the provisions of this paragraph.
Rationale: Verbiage was added to include a recreation area as it reflects back to the definition that was previously approved so it is streamlined. This makes it simple and it goes in line with the definition.
Discussion: Sheriff Farmer stated that he was aware that a lot of facilities have indoor recreational areas and outdoors. He stated that with this it appeared to leave it up to the facility to make sure they use one or the other of those recreational opportunities. Sheriff Farmer asked if there was any other comment. Sheriff Hunter asked what happens if there is a facility that does not have an indoor recreational facility and there is inclement weather? Sheriff Hunter stated that he did not want to handicap any of the smaller facilities and to make sure they can still operate and nothing here puts them in a tough position until they can bring things up to par. Sheriff Hunter stated that some of the constrained counties are having a hard time and he wanted to make sure they are taken care of also, along with the federal guidelines. Sheriff Farmer stated that he would go along with the documentation as the time should count for outdoor recreation of these facilities. They need to document the weather as inclement or what is going on outside on that particular day. Sheriff Farmer stated he would entertain the motion.
Motion: Sheriff Hunter motioned to accept as written, which was seconded byCommissioner Tunnell. Hearing no dissent, Motion Passes.
Standard: 13.10 C – Inmate Discipline
Presenter - James Aguiar, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office
Proposal: “The inmate shall have the following rights to a disciplinary hearing," under C. It says, "The time spent by an inmate in segregation shall be proportionate to the offense committed, that no offense shall be greater than 30 days per violation incident.”
Rationale: The recommended change on that is to strike the word violation and do a 30 days per incident. We do -- we have discovered through some of the inspection processes that there may be one or more agencies in the state that are actually consecutively keeping inmates confined for disciplinary by violation. They may have three or four violations per incident so they'll give 'em 30 days for each violation. And in a sense they're keeping 'em locked -- you know, confined for an extended amount of time. It's our belief that if an inmate is that much of a problem there is room in the standards to allow them to administer the confinement of an inmate and still accomplish the same thing. We want to make sure that our discipline, that it's 30 days per incident rather than 30 days per rule violation.
Discussion: Sheriff Farmer asked for comment. Director Flowers asked if you have an incident that is based on that and there may be multiple violations, one can’t give them 30 days for each one of those violations. Director Flowers asked if the intent was to give the inmate 30 days collectively for that incident. Mr. Aguiar stated it was. Sheriff Hunter asked that if 30 days later, the inmate comes out and they have another incident they can be put back in, but they inmate would be out for at least a day. Mr. Aguiar stated that was correct.
Sheriff Farmer asked if there was any further comment, and there was none.
Motion: Sheriff Huntermotioned to accept as written, which was seconded byCommissioner Tunnell. Hearing no dissent, Motion Passes.
Standard: 21.7D, Activities and Programming, Youth Detention Facilities
Presenter Lieutenant Joseph Gaudette,
Proposal: Recreation and physical activities shall be provided to promote physical growth and development, including daily outdoor large muscle exercise. Youths shall have the opportunity to have daily exercise, weather permitting. Uncontrollable or violent youths shall have their recreational time curtailed as required for safety.
Rationale: The proposal is to remove the word “outdoor”. This would allow agencies that have an indoor recreation system to still afford these youthful offenders the opportunity for exercise without hindering the process.
Discussion: Sheriff Farmer opened this for discussion. Acting Director Flowers asked if any of the agencies provided feedback in regards to this proposal. Lieutenant Gaudette stated that through the task force they had John Gartz and Chief Mike Allen on that conference call and they were in agreement with that particular change. AD Flowers stated that he knew from his own facility in Volusia County they do not have an area large enough to do recreation so all of his recreation for juveniles has to be outdoors. AD Flowers stated they have an outdoor courtyard which is attached to the unit and he gives them in excess of three hours a week. He stated he did not have an indoor area which keeps them from the sight and sound of adults. Lieutenant Gaudette that one of the building blocks with jail designs is they don’t have direct outdoor areas. There was discussion about the mesh screen which is used for ventilation and the juveniles may or may not get direct sunlight. Lt. Gaudette stated if they were reading this correctly, this standard says that the facility has to provide activities for them and with the removal of the word “outdoor” it doesn’t have to be outdoors. Lt. Gaudette stated that since Chief Mike Allen was involved in the Southern Poverty suit and he was in acceptance of this, that is why we are recommending we go forward with this.
Commander McGowan stated he had a question for Lieutenant Gaudette. He wanted to know if Lieutenant Gaudette was that in Alaska there are several federal lawsuits where an indoor recreation area and an outdoor recreation area, and that if outdoor recreation is available, you have to send those people to outside to get that sunlight that we were talking about which concerns him with this proposed change to the standard. Lieutenant Gaudette stated that he believed that based on the designs which are in place around the state of Florida, there are many agencies which would not be able to satisfy the definition as it is written today. Sheriff Hunter stated if you have an outdoor recreation yard and you are offering them indoor recreation there may be some problems. Director Flowers stated that will be at the discretion of the agency and they're choosing that on their own and that's why he believes the way this is written you have the option. If a facility has those things available to them it can be scheduled accordingly. But they don't -- if we come in here and mandate that it has to be outdoors then that means some folks have to come up with some money and build some facilities. Commander McGowan stated there are certain times that we need to address items that come from the federal guidelines and regulatory issues. Sheriff Hunter the standard does say the weather permitting, so that part assumes there is an outdoor area. Sheriff Farmer stated that we just don't want to require a facility to build one just simply 'cause it's left up to their discretion whether they do it or not. This board will be in place and as we move forward if there's a push for that and we see that there's litigation out there that is going to affect our folks, we can always go back and change things. That is the beauty of having this and it's a fluid environment. We have different things that come up from time to time so we can change these things as we move forward.