AGENDA - Florida Sheriffs Association



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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 Farmer led 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 activities other 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 by Director 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 by Director 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 by Commissioner 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 Hunter motioned to accept as written, which was seconded by Commissioner 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.

Motion: Sheriff Farmer asked for a motion to accept as written and Commissioner Tunnell which was seconded by Director Flowers. Hearing no dissent, motion Passes.

OPEN FORUM:

Isaiah Dennard spoke about the FMJS Taskforce. Mr. Dennard stated the taskforce will get requests, or I get requests from FSA on different questions about the standards and trends that are seen out there and he sends those things out. Mr. Dennard stated he sends out to the jail administrators to send comments or the task force and we do have healthy discussions if things change. Now the only thing about when you look at legal precedents if you're in a different judicial circuit, what happens in California really sometimes does not affect what happens over here. Commander McGowan has a point in that we have to look at those things as they go on and some of the things the task force looks at is when the standards were written and it’s been almost 21 years with these standards. They have changed and evolved over a period of time in almost those 21 years, so they don't sit still. What we find in the task force discussion, and sometimes he will send it out to a few members -- there was a lot of things at the time and the administrative code that was not moved over by choice and design over the Florida Model Jail Standards. One of the things we look at is, you know, we don't have that enforceability piece, you know. We don't have that. That was not regulated to us to do that or the committee to do that.

So, how do you build that process and put some teeth and strength into the standard that -- they still remain as minimum standards. So, the task force -- the last conference call we had, we did discuss quite a few items and a different task force. A different sub-committee probably can talk about some of those things we talked about. You know, trying to enhance what we do on the training side for inspectors. One of the things we grappled with is we really don't have enough medical inspectors. Now Kristine Dekany's doing a class as we speak. She's been in Polk County and Sheriff Judd and his staff and Chief Allen have been gracious enough to host that class. We just can't get enough medical inspectors. After we sent the call out, we ended up with about 16 folks that met the qualifications to take the course, but we still are far short. It is just the opposite on the jail inspection side, we've got three times too many.

Mr. Dennard stated they grapple with the quality of the inspections. We always look at that to make sure when sheriffs and administrators ask these folks to come that they're doing the inspection. That it's not a whitewashed. It's not just this is my friend so I'm gonna cut him a break type thing. We really look at the quality of the inspections that we're getting. The task force, we'll probably do maybe in another month or probably a day workshop to talk about some of these standards again. Mr. Dennard stated the standards, and the way they're set up there are some that are serious violations, some that are notable. We have noticed through this past year or so that we have some that probably should be serious violations because of some of the things that the inspectors are seeing in the field and we get wind of it.

Mr. Dennard stated that Lieutenant Gaudette spoke about the disciplinary. This is an administrative process that we have. This is not a court of law. An inmate can't be locked up forever. The national trend is to get away from solitary confinement. The whole issue of restricted housing, now that one's coming. It is only a matter of time before those federal laws just like PREA, you will see something on restrictive housing because of abuses that may have occurred. We're trying to be proactive on the FMJ side instead of being reactive to it. So, that's what the task force is up to right now.

Mr. Aguiar then introduced Sergeant Brian Weddle for a report from the Standard Reviews subcommittee. Sergeant Weddle advised that on March 2nd they had a conference call with a lot of the sub-committee Chairs. Sergeant Weddle wanted to thank the presenters that came up this morning because that's part of the Standards Review process. We covered a lot of that during the conference call. We get a lot done during those and I just wanted to say thank you to those people. And that's all I have for the Standard Review.

Mr. Aguiar stated that before they moved on to the next subcommittee, he wanted to advise the Chair and the committee to know there was supposed to be an additional tab. Mr. Aguiar stated there was a total of 78 facilities that were in compliance with the jail operation inspection. 73 of those facilities had completed their medical. There were three facilities that were listed which did not complete their operation inspections and eight did not complete their medical inspections. Mr. Aguiar advised that letters were sent. Sheriff Farmer stated that letters were sent and he personally spoke at the new Sheriff’s school in Tallahassee at FSA about these reports. Sheriff Farmer stated that Sheriff Lou Roberts in Jackson County, his county commission has the jail there in Jackson County. It's not under his control. Sheriff Roberts said he would talk to the powers that be to see if they would comply with us on that. However, all these other counties except Madison and Escambia, they had brand-new sheriffs just elected. But they assured me it's a new day; that they would get it to us and we're still waiting though.

Mr. Aguiar introduced Captain Beth Richards to make the Compliance Subcommittee report. Captain Richards stated she had nothing additional.

Mr. Aguiar introduced Lieutenant Gaudette to provide a report from the Training Subcommittee. Lieutenant Gaudette stated he would like to thank everybody who helped do the process of the updates. Lieutenant Gaudette stated at the end of last year the task force did a huge update on -- getting the standards rewritten and put it in a format that's a little friendlier to use. He also added some hyperlinks so it's a little bit easier to navigate, along with a better compliance checklist. Lieutenant Gaudette stated he would like to recognize, even though she's not here, Ms. Wanda White for all the work that she's done. She is retired from Escambia, but just because she's retired she's trying to stay as active as she can and she is very instrumental in getting a lot of that done. As far as training, they are in the process of developing a whole new set of test questions based on all the changes to the standards, which is also going to be new training material, new PowerPoints. He stated they are going to try to get a couple of the refresher classes out this year with Mr. Dennard and with some of the (unintelligible) packs, but it is a work in progress. He stated he is working with Captian Dave Parisi out of Sarasota on the questions.

Lieutenant Gaudette stated that once that is done through Mr. Dennard and Mr. Aguiar, it will be reported to the committee where we stand on that. We're looking at probably 2018 before we have a 40-hour block. We have approximately 300 inspectors on the list, 40 or 50 expire this year, but in reality, we only have -- we have maybe 100 that are active. So, when Mr. Dennard says that we have way too many, we do have way too many. He stated that one of the first things are going to look at is potentially reducing the class size down to like 20 or 25 for jail inspectors so that they are not adding 50 inspectors every year to maybe get one or two that actually go out there and inspect. Lieutenant Gaudette stated that on the records retention process of keeping up to date with this stuff, Mr. Dennard does have a step, however that's doing it but, it is very tedious to keep up with 300 people when only a small handful are staying active.

____________ wanted to ask a question. He stated that it appeared that a lot of them are getting the jail inspector title and then not participating. He wanted to know if there was something which said or did we need to put something in writing that in order to maintain the title, a certain amount of inspections needed to be done per year. Lieutenant Gaudette stated there is already a requirement in the standards for two inspections in that four-year period. He stated he has had a discussion with Mr. Dennard that the task force is going to discuss is maybe at the two-year mark have a certain number of inspections in order to go beyond and they would still be on the list as inspector, but they'd be moved to an inactive status. That way that will help keep that list a little more manageable.

Major Lochrie stated he had spoken with Mr. Aguiar about this before and I just wanna go on record. A lot of times individuals go to the inspector course because they want to learn about Florida Model Jail Standards, they're not educated on what it is and what is required of them. Captain Lochrie stated he mentioned to Mr. Aguiar maybe the committee think about developing some kind of training curriculum for individuals. He stated he knows that in my agency he have a new operations captain, who is not really familiar with the Florida Model Jail Standards. He stated he is trying to educate him. If he wanted to at this point he would have to go to become an inspector in order to learn about the process. So, this might be an avenue where you don't get all of these people signing up to be inspectors when in reality they just want to learn about the process.

Mr. Dennard stated that he can speak with Lieutenant Gaudette, Christina and Annie, who are part of the Training Sub-Committee, Sean and those who do the instruction. We can do some informational stuff, even develop PowerPoints maybe. Probably have Captain Parisi look at that because he works on our training and development type of stuff for that. We can do that. That's not a problem at all. Mr. Dennard stated there are some issues that came up during the training classes he's conducting this week that we'll talk about at the task force that probably needs to change in the presentation. There are some other items in the Standards that Annie was just mentioning to me that we probably could look at and redo as part of the standards also. She states that the class is going well. They should be out in the field in Polk County today. He reemphasized we do need more, so we may do another class later this year. If anyone knows of any, even if they're contract vendors, if they meet the qualifications they can attend the training. We just have a lot of need for medical inspectors right now.

Mr. Aguiar advised Mr. Dennard he was next for the Quality Assurance Subcommittee. Mr. Dennard stated they spoke about the last time we met in Lake County at Sergeant Weddle's place, and really talked about looking at enhancing the qualifications for inspectors. What has been the problem is a lot of it has been resumé-building with no intent of going out to do inspections and that is hardest. Early on when FMJS took over from the State, the emphasis was on building up a cast of inspectors where they were doing four or five classes a year and when you do that for so many years, you end up where we're at now, almost 300. He stated when Captain Richards reviews the reports with the Compliance Committee they see the same names. A lot of them were part of Standard Peer Groups, but some were single individuals like Donald Wainwright who will do most of the Panhandle, but it's the same ones. And I understand the needs of the agency comes first. No one here today has a problem. But part of this, you know, when you come to do it, it is the expectation is when there is a need whether it's the sheriffs or a county, we can rely on inspectors to go. He stated that he is sometimes contacted about securing inspectors and the sheriffs have been gracious enough to let their staff go. But, then again for medical it really is a struggle. So, we're looking at enhancing the qualifications -- -- for those who are going to be -- especially on the jail side. Not so much on medical, but on the jail side. Joe mentioned looking at the testing process and Captain Parisi's been good about, you know, looking at the Standards, coming up with the test questions. That was one of the things that Sheriff Rutherford pushed that there needs to be an in-classroom recertification class. Not a refresher, it's to recertify. So, you'll have people in front. So, you'll have these -- part of the Training Committee who talk to inspectors. PowerPoints are great, but they don't give you any verbal feedback. They don't give you any understanding or interpretation of standards, so getting those in the class.

Last year we had four recertification classes scheduled. We were only able to do two because two of the classes nobody ever signed up. No one can make anybody go, but I think we lost about 30 off the list last year. We're anticipating probably another 40 more this year are already -- say they're not going. Okay. Well, you stopped somebody from your agency that probably would have done some good that could've been out there inspecting. So, we're really looking at how to do that on the quality assurance side. The PREA Subcommittee which has been inactive for a while, we will be activating that and Bernard Johns, Superintendent from the juvenile detention facility in Seminole County is the Chair of that. What Mr. Johns has been asked to do is just monitor how things may have changed as far as PREA with the -- federal standards are still the same, but they always -- a different interpretation.

The thing about PREA is and when he speaks to those individuals from the Department of Justice, their question is, "Well, Isaiah, how do we get those off the fence to at least do compliance?" They're not talking about audit, but the acceptance of standards and making sure that the agencies are compliant. Well, you know, to me that starts at the top. It has to start there. He stated he can push it as much as he wants. He stated he had been doing this since 2012. But the direction has to come from the top and the buy-in has to be with everyone. Whether you do an audit or not the standards still apply; they apply. The only difference is the liability is a little bit different at the local level. There are a lot of grant money and money out there for compliance and PREA -- a new solicitation came out March 15th, five-million dollars over a 36 months period to help those smaller jails, 500 beds or less to comply with the standards. At this time, at the local level that is all DOJ's looking for. Do you have the standards? Are you complying the best you can? Because some things with PREA -- there was a big misunderstanding that PREA wouldn't cost you anything. Yeah, it does to a degree. Those that are compliant -- we have some of those in the room that can tell you. We put a lot of money into accreditation. We spent a lot of money on accreditation, but PREA came around and, "No, we're not gonna be bothered." He stated it was hard for him to understand, but you have some of those that are committed to the process. So, I would suggest look at that.

A big event that's coming up, the American Jail Association will be here in Orlando at the Marriott April 9th through the 12th and there is a lot of us that are involved. I know Major (Unintelligible) is part of the Board. Captain Richards is going to be involved; Mr. Dennard will be involved in the PREA portion. Orange County is the host agency. We have Lieutenant Gaines who is here representing Orange County. They will be involved. He would say as many of you who can support our state, by all means be there. Chief John Johnson from Miami-Dade will be installed on April 9th as the new president of AJA, so we have one of our own that will be in office. I would say if you can support him, by all means support him. And that's it for me.

Captain David Parisi from Sarasota was the next speaker. He stated he wanted to clarify 1.38. He stated Sheriff Hunter mentioned it and wanted to know if we were restricting a multipurpose space. He stated there are some agencies who use a multipurpose space as a recreation area and a class room. He wanted to make sure were are not hampering the agencies who do that. Sheriff Hunter suggested striking the one clause that “excludes”. It could also be a secure area designed to be used for recreation. Sheriff Hunter made a motion to strike from 1.38 the multipurpose space from the language and then the rest will remain. Director Flowers seconded the motion. Hearing no dissent, the motion passes.

Captain Parisi stated that for item number four, visitation; he asked if we are no longer requiring anyone under the age of 18 to register when they come in to visit. Sheriff Hunter stated the intent there is that if they are juveniles or they're not adults, so they are going to be under the responsibility of the adult and we can ask for additional information. So, yes you can require that anybody comes in that facility but it's gonna be the responsibility of the adult bringing them to the facility to name them. Captain Parisi stated but that the way it reads is "All adult visitors shall be required to register and record their name, address and relationship to the inmate." So if a visitor and their son comes in, they bring the juvenile with him, think he should be able to register because we know we actually use that for some court cases to show that the child cannot come visit someone who's incarcerated and they come into visit and we can't prove it if we're not requiring them to actually register them. Commander McGowan stated when this section was being discussed; he had the same concern and it leaves it open with the verbiage that someone can ask for additional information as the officer in charge. Lt. Gaudette asked if it would be better to have a sentence to say that all adult and juvenile visitors will be recorded or reported. It would be up to the individual sheriff running his county, and as for someone asking for information as in a public records request, it is excluded. Information on juveniles visiting is easily set aside. Captain Parisi stated he believed the standard should be left reasonably vague so that the sheriff or his designee can ask for the question he wants. Tina Chatmon with Clay County came to the podium. She stated that this has been brought back up for discussion, the definition for adult is 18 years or older and included people who married at 16, 17 they're considered an adult. After some discussion it was decided to leave it the way it was written.

Sheriff Farmer stated it is an honor to serve as your Chair. He stated the rest of the Committee might've think they roped him into it and twisted his arm, but he has a very hard time saying no in his vocabulary after they lay things on me like this. He stated it is an honor to serve as Chair as he was FSA Board of Directors and President and the Youth Ranch Chairman of their Board of Directors.

He stated this job has always meant a lot to him, especially working with our elderly and he has a large task here in this area -- and the children. He stated he appreciates everyone who serves on the committees and your input in the various committees. He thanked everyone for coming today.

Commissioner Tunnell made motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Sheriff Hunter.

Meeting adjourned. 1040 hours.

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FLORIDA MODEL JAIL STANDARDS REVIEW

SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

Friday, March 24, 2017

09: 00 A.M.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office

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