January 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
It’s been almost two years since officials of the Tennessee Corrections Institute paid a call on the former county commission to address the structural deficiencies with the DeKalb County Jail but a return visit is planned this month to bring the new commission up to date on the current condition of the facility and what TCI expects of the county to maintain jail certification.
Bob Bass, Deputy Director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) along with Jim Hart of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) will meet with the County Mayor, County Commission, and Sheriff on Wednesday, January 18 at 6 p.m. in the lower courtroom of the courthouse.
Although the county will have to continue pursuing a long-term plan of action for addressing structural deficiencies, the state has continued to grant certification approval for the DeKalb County Jail and Annex. As part of that plan of action the sheriff must submit monthly progress reports to TCI and the county, at the request of TCI, commissioned CTAS to conduct a needs assessment or feasibility study of the jail.
In the fall of 2019, the county entered into a partnership with TCI and CTAS to develop a plan of action to show measurable progress in rectifying deficiencies to keep the jail and annex certified. Although no measurable progress had to be shown during the height of the COVID pandemic, Bass told the county commission on March 31, 2021 that the problems will eventually have to be solved.
“The particular standards you are in trouble with are physical plant. How the jail was built. It has nothing to do with what the sheriff’s department has done or the staff when it comes to operation. In fact its one of the cleanest jails I have been in. Even the part you shouldn’t be operating (the oldest building) is clean and well organized. You are not overcrowded. You just don’t meet TCI standards in some areas,” he said.
The oldest building, which has been in operation since 1959 and houses prisoners in its basement, poses perhaps the greatest concern.
“That basement has no natural light. You must have skylight. Windows that produce natural light. You must have an 8 foot ceiling height. Your basement ceiling is 7 feet, 6 inches. Its not sprinkled. Sprinklers are not part of our standards unless you are building a new facility but old facilities like yours are not grandfathered in and you have a cage down there which serves as a makeshift cell for trustees with a 12 inch gap on top of it. That is unauthorized housing. An inmate could come over that gap and have access to appliances, water heater, chemicals, etc,” said Bass.
The basement cells each have 10 beds but the square footage only exists for six inmates and while the cells have porcelain sinks and toilets the state requires they be stainless steel. The cells also have no floor drains and conduit is exposed.
Cells for females in another part of the jail have similar issues.
As for the jail annex, which has been in operation since 2001, there are 46 beds with adequate space for only 32 inmates.
According to Bass new and existing facilities must have at least a minimum size multiple-occupancy cell for 2-64 occupants with twenty-five (25) square feet of clear floor space for each occupant in the sleeping areas, and a ceiling elevation of not less than eight (8) feet. At least thirty-five (35) square feet of clear floor space must be provided for each occupant when the occupant is confined for more than ten (10) hours per day.
“We have identified what our problems are and must now figure out a way to come up with a solution. We’re here to help and we will get you through this. My suggestion is to start strategizing about what options you have. You can’t do anything about the basement in the old jail building. You will have to come out of that basement. It could be used for storage but not for housing inmates. Take a look at your growth and see how many beds you need which the feasibility study will address. We want to help you fix the problems but until we get them fixed I am going to fight to keep you certified. That’s my job. I will go in front of the board and plead your case,” said Bass.