SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 26, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Corrections and the Utah Sheriff’s Association announced Friday they will collaborate to create a new state standard for facility safety and operations.
The standards will apply to state prisons, community correctional centers and county jails under contract with UDC.
The first step for the UDC and the USA will be to appoint a Standards Commission, composed of directors, sheriffs, jail commanders, correctional officers and Adult Probation and Parole staff to set the direction of the project. UDC and the USA will direct the Commission to create standards and associated reports that are relevant and will be accessible to the public, when their release does not affect the security of facilities.
“Transparency is essential to building trust in our corrections system,” said UDC Executive Director Rollin Cook. “By operating under standards that address the needs of Utah’s correctional system, we can be accountable to our citizens while providing safe and humane environments for the people who work in and who are incarcerated in our state.”
Standards for operations typically include minimum requirements for physical plant, operations, service delivery, sanitation and programs that meet constitutional requirements for offender care. They also provide some measure of liability protection for agencies. Standards also provide a framework to develop audits so facilities can recognize deficiencies and correct them.
“Our intention is these new standards will comply with the constitution, but will also go beyond minimum requirements to provide the most secure, efficient and well-managed facilities possible,” said Cook. “We have a long-standing, positive relationship with our county Sheriffs and we look forward to working together to create these standards.”
The Department currently requires each county under contract to house state inmates to follow a modified version of the Utah Jail Standards, developed by DeLand and Associates, Inc. The Department’s contract with the company expires in June 2018.
“Utah jails have been working and operating under a set of legal-based jail standards for over 20 years,” said USA Executive Director Sheriff (ret.) Aaron Kennard.
“From these USA jail standards, the partnership will develop a joint set of standards that can and will be used statewide. The standards will be very transparent and available for viewing by all interested parties, both governmental and public.”
Additionally, the Utah Sheriffs’ Association negotiated an agreement with DeLand and Associates, Inc., to make the Utah Jail Standards available publicly on the Utah Sheriffs’ Association’s website. Any standards deemed confidential in nature to protect safety and security of the facilities will be removed. To minimize the exposure of trade secrets and intellectual property critical to DeLand’s national standards, consulting, and training business, DeLand will remove the legal and other research information which annotates and supports each standard.
The first section will be published on the Utah Sheriffs’ website in the next seven to 10 days with the remaining sections to follow as quickly as they are completed.
County jails serve a critical role in managing the state inmate population and in the future as the state experiences continued population growth. UDC contracts with 21 county jails to house state inmates. Of UDC’s approximately 6,400 inmates, about 1,700 are housed in contracted county jails.
