Introduction Direct Supervision Guidelines The purpose of these training guidelines is to provide some consistency in the way we do our jobs on a daily basis. Your primary function as a correctional officer or deputy will be to maintain a safe and secure facility for you and your fellow officers and for all inmates. Every staff member will treat each person in his or her custody fairly and humanely. Employees will treat all inmates with respect. Any contact with inmates will be professional in nature. Conversations with inmates will be restricted to jail business such as court dates, visitation hours etc. Conversations that are personal in nature or conversations that involve anything other than jail business will be avoided. Any contact with inmates will be professional in nature. No staff member is allowed to violate an inmate s constitutionally protected rights. No immunity from the law exists for those employees who violate state, federal, local laws, or internal policies and procedures. Employees will be required to stay on their assigned post at all times. Employees who smoke will be limited to two smoke breaks per shift. Employees must obtain permission from a shift supervisor prior to leaving their post to smoke. These breaks will be brief and will not be prior to one hour into the employees coming onto their shift and will not be within one hour of the employee ending their shift. The designated smoking area is located just outside the employee s entrance near the booking area. Only one employee will be in this area at any given time. Employees will return to their assigned post immediately upon completion of such details. Employees will also refrain from playing video games, surfing the web, and any other non official acts on departmental computers. The only exception will be to check departmental email account and the Sheriff s Office Website. This should be done on a daily basis. Cell phones or any other electronic equipment such as MP3 Players, I-PODs, I-PADs, Kindles, Lap Tops, and other Hand Held Games, will be strictly prohibited in the work place. Employees will not bring books, magazines, or newspapers into the work place. A.A., Bible Study, and Church Church and Bible study in pods C, D, E, and F will be held inside the pod areas. All inmates that do not wish to participate will be required to lock down inside of their cell. All inmates who are not on restrictions will be given the opportunity to attend regular scheduled activities such as church, AA, yard call etc. Civilian volunteers will be participating and are to be monitored at all times. Cell Inspections/Inside Rounds A complete round is to be made immediately after clearing shift. During the round, you are to check on the welfare of all inmates and maintenance issues. Remove any trash, 1
food items from previous meals, and debris, etc. Check the vents, walls and lights. Remove anything that is covering them. Also check for contraband. Maintenance issues are to be documented on a maintenance request form and forwarded to the shift supervisors. Rounds are to be conducted on an hourly basis. These rounds are to be staggered so that no pattern is established. Officers will search two cells minimum during their tour of duty and identify each which includes one cell on the top tier and one cell on the bottom tier. These should be documented on the Cell search log sheet and the green log book. Officers will enter the individual cells and look for extra towels, washcloths, shower shoes, shanks, tattoo related items and any other contraband including excessive authorized items and food left from previous meals. Items considered trash will be discarded into a trash receptacle. Officers will have inmates to remove any foreign debris covering light fixtures, air vents and windows. All laundry needs to be removed from the handrails, fire sprinklers. Officers need to check underneath the bunks and mattresses for contraband and excessive authorized items. Also visually check the seams of the mattresses to make sure contraband has not been concealed inside of the mattress. Officers working in the Direct Supervision Housing units should not use the officer s station as a crutch. The officer should make rounds to include checking the visitation and shower areas as well as the individual cells. Consistency All four teams should operate in the same manner. This will require some communication between the Direct Supervision Officers. Any Reward system should be administered by all three shifts. This prevents the inmates from being off balanced and ultimately should lead to fewer problems. The Direct Supervision Officer will attempt to handle all Inmate Requests generated from his/her housing unit to reduce the load on the Inmate Relations staff. Request such as court dates, calls to attorneys, emergency phone calls to family members, laundry issues will be handled by the Direct Supervision Officer. Request that can t be handled will be forwarded to the appropriate Staff member or Contractor. The Direct Supervision Officer will also collect the mail, pass out the mail and handle razor call. Fights/Physical Altercations/Other Emergency Situations At the onset of a fight, the Direct Supervision Officer will announce the following over the Radio: Fight in the specified location: For example, Inmate/Inmate Fight in Delta One. Physical altercations involving inmates will be handled by the Roving Officer entering the cell block and he/she will give clear, concise, verbal commands for the inmates to stop their actions. The Direct Supervision Officer will give verbal commands for the non involved inmates to Lock Down in their assigned cells. They will instruct 2
them to return and remain in their assigned area until notified otherwise. The non involved inmates will remain in their specified locations while the First Responding Officer is addressing the involved inmates. The Roving Officer will take necessary actions to separate the participants and investigate the incident. All parties involved in the altercation will be escorted to medical for medical clearance prior to being placed back into a cell block. An Incident Report will be completed by the Direct Supervision Officer on the scene and photographs will be taken as necessary of injuries and damages. All inmates involved in the physical altercation will be instructed to complete Witness Statement Forms. JDC Reports will also be initiated. A Keep Separate order must be added to Police Central to aide in discouraging future incidents. General Guidelines Phone calls will be answered in the same manner as all other business calls. Henry County Sheriff s Office, Officer speaking, how may I help you? The intercom system in the pod area is a vital source for communication between security staff and the inmates. This system must be monitored and answered each and every time in case there is an emergency in the dorm area. Do not look up anything on the internet or make phone calls for the inmates. Do not let inmates stand upstairs around the visitation and shower area. Laundry bags are assigned to the cell. Any inmate crossing the red line without permission from an officer will automatically be removed and sanctioned for a minimum of 7 days in A-1. (No excuses or questions asked.) 13 Posted Rules for Direct Supervision 1. Do not cross the red line without permission. 2. Do not go into or stand in front of any other inmate s cell. 3. All doors must remain closed at all times. 4. Do not post or draw anything on doors, walls, or beds. 5. No passing items under cell doors. 6. Keep noise level to a minimum. 7. Inmates from the bottom tier are not allowed on the top tier except for visitation. 8. No sitting on the stairs. 9. If you are out of your cell, jumpsuits must be buttoned, armbands must be worn on wrist at all times, and nothing can be on your head or in your hair. 10. Dorm and cell must be clean at all times. a. Clean up after yourself. b. Dump trash after each shift. c. No kitchen food or drinks in cells. 11. Showers should be taken as early as possible. Showers will be cut off fifteen minutes prior to lock down. 12. No saving phones. 13. Lockdown means lockdown. Houseman Schedule A Houseman Schedule has been created for the lockdown dorms. The rotation will start with the bottom left hand cell in all of the dorms and that shall be the houseman of the 3
day. The following day, it will rotate one cell to the right or one cell down on the roster. When the far right hand cell on the bottom is finished, the rotation will go upstairs to the far right hand cell and proceed back to the left. Officers will complete the log sheets and annotate the names of the inmate, the inmate s identification number and the cell number. If a cell is empty or the inmates assigned refuse to clean up, the officer shall write that down on the schedule/roster sheet so all shifts will be aware. Duties of the Housemen 1. Sweep and mop the floors. 2. Keep the windows and tables clean. 3. Serve the trays at meal time. 4. Clean the visitation area. 5. Empty the trash. 6. Wipe down the telephones and store machines. 7. Sweep the recreation yard. (Only when it is completely dry.) Head Count/Shift Clear Headcount is one of the most important functions of the jail and will be treated as such. The off going officers will give all inmates advanced notice of headcount and will ensure all inmates are up, dressed, and ready. Notice is to be given three times. First notice is at 0630 and 0645 hours. A second notice will be given at 0645 and 1845 hours. The final notice will be when the oncoming shift is en route. The off going officers will ensure that the televisions in the dorm are turned off prior to clearing shift. The telephones will also be turned off to avoid distractions during the headcount process. The inmates will have their jumpsuits on and buttoned and their shower shoes and wrist bands on. They will not be allowed to have anything on their heads such as du-rags. Inmates will stand outside their cells near the doorway in a straight line for visibility for count. The off going officer will obtain an updated Block Hall report prior to the oncoming shift s arrival to the pod area. The off going officer will ensure that inmates that are out of the dorm area for any reason, such as courts and medical, are marked off the block hall report and that the report is accurate. A thorough headcount is then to be conducted by both the oncoming and outgoing rovers. The oncoming roving officer will enter the cell block and count each inmate on the bottom tier and will then proceed up the stairs to count the inmates on the top tier. The oncoming officers will then notify the off going officer of the total number of inmates counted in the dorm. The count is to be compared to the number of inmates on the block report. If there are any discrepancies, a second headcount will be conducted at which time that number will be given to the off going officer. If there are still discrepancies, a supervisor will be notified and a roll call will be conducted using the block hall report. The block hall report will not be cleared until all inmates in the block have been accounted for. Both officers will then sign the Block/Hall report. 4
The off going shift will brief the oncoming officers of any problems that occurred during the previous shift such as fights, suicide precautions, or any other issues. The off going officer will then transfer their radio, keys, remote control, and any other equipment over to the oncoming officer. The oncoming officer will be responsible for checking all the equipment including the radio and ensuring that it is in the proper working order. Laundry Officers should always attempt to follow the posted laundry schedule. Collect the laundry as soon as operationally possible to give the inmate workers enough time to wash the items picked up on that rotation. It s imperative that when bed linen is collected, that it is returned before lights out is ordered. As a general rule items to be cleaned in the laundry area will be the property of the Henry County Jail without exception on the designated laundry day (Uniforms, sheets, blankets, towels, wash clothes and jumpsuits). Inmate personal whites (t-shirts, socks and underwear) can be sent to laundry on the designated day but inmates are not required to send them out. Maintenance Log Book A Maintenance Log Book has been placed on every post. It is a three ring binder which contains blank Maintenance Work Order Forms. It also contains a sheet that describes all of the deficiencies, such as graffiti on the walls, holes in the windows or walls, missing items, or maintenance problems in each dorm. Each oncoming officer shall carry this log book with them, while conducting their walkthroughs so they can refer to the list to verify any new problems. Just like any other equipment, they must make sure that the log book is present prior to clearing shift. An incident report must be done on any new damage. Plus a Maintenance Work Order must be completed. An Incident Report is REQUIRED only when damage is caused by inmates. Officers must write down the new deficiency on the log and annotate that an incident report was completed, along with their name and employee number. This shall increase inmate accountability for damage to county and facility property. Meals Preparations will be made so that rovers are ready to serve meals as soon as the trays come back so they do not sit around getting cold. The officer is required to adhere to the special diet list. The officer will check the inmates arm band and check them off on the block hall report once they receive a tray. Meals are served on each shift by the Inmate Worker assigned to that particular pod or by the jail staff. Inmates serving meals must wear gloves and hair nets and Officers serving meals will be required to wear gloves and hair nets. Only one meal will be provided to each inmate to discourage complaints of favoritism. This includes dorm help inmates. During the evening meal, inmates are to be given one pack of sandwiches and a drink. If there is milk in the sack, no other drink will be served. Keep the pod areas orderly and clean during feeding times. Keep the trays and 5
other food items stacked neatly in corners and away from doors in the pod areas in case of emergencies. Trays and other food serving items are to be picked up after each meal and brought outside the pods. Steps to Serving Meals Use the designated housemen to serve the trays. Turn off the television and telephones during the feeding process to reduce noise and confusion. The telephones will remain off during the entire feeding time. Make everyone come out of their cell and close the door behind them. Make everyone line up in a single file line along the wall where the telephones are located. Once everyone is in line, all the doors are secured and everyone is relatively quiet, start serving. Once everyone has been served, turn the televisions back on. No yard call is conducted nor showers taken during meal time. Inmates are not to take any food or drinks back into their cells from the meal. This is to reduce insects and increase sanitation. Inmates are to remain seated at their table during feeding time. The only exception would be for them to return to their assigned cell. Medication Medical rounds will be made during each shift which will include passing medication, picking up medical request forms, checking PPD tests etc. Officers are to remain with the medical staff at all times during these rounds and are to make sure inmates swallow their medication. Medical personnel are not considered security and will be escorted from the cell block during any emergency such as fights, riots, etc. The Officer will notify medical if an inmate is sick and requires immediate medical attention. Medical will make the decision to see or not to see the inmate right away. Any refusal to treat or see an inmate by medical personnel will be documented in the log book provided. Medical request forms will be picked up by the nurse that is responsible for pill call in the housing unit. Mail Delivery The mail will be delivered to the appropriate housing unit after it has been processed. The Inmate Relations Officer assigned for that particular area will be responsible for inspection and delivery of privileged mail. Under no circumstances shall the Officer leave mail lying around. Under no circumstances will the Officer delegate an inmate to distribute the mail. The Officer will announce mail call and will call out the name on each letter. The letter will be provided to the inmate for whom it is addressed after the Officer verifies the identification of the inmate via their armband. Inmates will not be allowed to retrieve mail destined for another inmate. Mail will be delivered to the inmates assigned to Direct Supervision Areas by the Direct Supervision Officer. 6
Law Library A New Law Library exists on A-side in the Library. It is on the computer. When an inmate asks to go to the law library, provide them with an inmate request form and tell them to complete the inmate request form. The request form needs to be addressed to LT Brownlee. Upon receiving the request, he will schedule them an appointment to go to the library. Never allow the IWF Workers in the library unsupervised. They do not need to be tampering with the computer and this computer does not have internet access. Radio Communication Communication between staff members are a vital function in the jail environment. Each staff member will have a portable radio in their possession during their tour of duty while assigned to the jail. The channel selected will be displayed on the window of each radio. When working as the C/D/E/F Rover, the Officer will keep his/her radio on the Main Control Booking channel. A pod rover radios will be on pod A. B pod radios will be on Pod B. All rovers conducting yard call will also be on the main control/booking frequency. Staff should not use the scan function while working inside the jail. When speaking into the radio, it is important that staff speak in calm, clear, concise, professional manner and tone of voice. Try to hold the radio at a proper distance from your mouth when transmitting. During inmate fights calls, officer need assistance calls and failure to comply calls, it may be difficult to remain calm and not get excited. Officers should provide exact location of the incident for rapid response. Razors Razors will be issued during day watch hours only. Inmates may receive a disposal razor upon request and provided an opportunity to shave on designated days. Only those inmates who have been identified to be prohibited from obtaining a razor shall be denied this privilege. Restricted inmates include the following but not limited to those inmates on suicide watch, homicide watch, those with a history of assaultive behavior, and those prohibited for medical reasons by the medical staff. Officers will never leave razors unattended or in an unsecured location. The Officer will retrieve the new razors and will announce razor call for any inmate wishing to receive a razor to line up for razor issue. The Officer will use the Block Hall report to identify which inmate is receiving a razor, write the number of the razor next to their name and issue a new razor to the inmate. The inmates will be given approximately 30 minutes to shave. The inmate must maintain possession his/her assigned razor. Razors can be used as either a weapon or as device to commit suicide. Failure to maintain control of the razor issued to them may result in disciplinary actions and possible future razor restrictions. The Officer that issues a razor will verify that the razor was intact prior to issuing the razor and upon receiving the razor back from the inmate. The Officer will properly dispose of the used razors preferably in the red bio-hazard container. While collecting 7
the razors, the Officer should wear gloves and use caution to prevent accidentally cuts. The Officer will inspect each razor carefully to ensure that it has not been disassembled and then place a check mark by the inmate s name. No inmate shall return a razor for another inmate. If an inmate should not return a razor or provide an altered razor, the Officer is to instruct the inmate to provide the razor. If the inmate fails to comply, the Officer should notify a supervisor immediately. The Officer should lock down all the assigned inmates until the entire area can be completely searched or until the item is recovered. A disciplinary report shall be completed by the Officer. Records/Log Book As a record keeper, the officer also maintains a court admissible log book that tracks activities, movement, and incidents such as the following activities will be documented in the log book with the appropriate times that the activities took place as well as the names of personnel involved: Personnel, equipment (AED; Air Pack, Flashlight, mail bag, 10 Belly chains) equipment malfunctions, tier rotation, walkthroughs, inside rounds, outside rounds, meals, attorney visits, clergy visits, store rounds, medication rounds, medical involved refusals, disturbances such as use of forces and fights, yard call, church, bible study, and maintenance concerns. All rounds will be documented in the provided log book. Include the time of the round or isolation check and the employee(s) completing the round. All other functions will be documented in the same manner. Releases Officers will ensure that inmates being released from the facility are identified by their arm bands and that they retrieve all jail issued items from the pod which will include a mattress, blanket, sheet, towel, washcloth, shower shoes, and any personal items prior to escorting them to the property room and booking for release. Officers will also check to ensure that net bags belonging to the jail are not taken by the inmate pending release. Safety Considerations You cannot predict with 100% accuracy which inmate will become violent in any given situation and Officer Safety must be addressed at all times. Jails by their very nature have a tendency to be violent places. Protective gloves are provided by the agency and should be used as a safety precaution. Officers are risk to exposure to blood-borne pathogens, HIV, Hepatitis, TB and several other contagious and infectious diseases. Officers are encouraged to call for back up at the first sign of a confrontation. Officers should remember to attempt to maintain a numeric advantage when dealing with combative inmates. Officers are cautioned that their most important duty is to return home safely at the end of the shift. Security As previously mentioned, all doors including the recreation door and the slider door to exit the housing unit are to be secured at all times to prevent gang activity, 8
sexual/physical assaults and thefts. Inmates should never have access to the intercom buttons at the Crossover Doors or the Exit Doors. These doors should never be opened without the presence or the request of the Direct Supervision Officer. Store Call/Commissary Store call or commissary will be delivered to the jail on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Night Teams will be responsible for delivering the store goods to the appropriate cell block. The store bags will be given to the appropriate inmate after his or her identity has been verified by the inmate s arm band. An inmate will not receive store without his/her armband being shown to the Officer. The inmate will check each item in the store bag in the presence of the Officer. They cannot walk off and then claim a shortage. If an item is missing, a notation will be written beside the item that is missing by the officer with the number of items missing. For example, write missing 1, missing 2 etc. The roving officer will then sign and print beside the item that is missing on both the department s copy and the inmate s copy. The inmate will sign the white copy of the store sheet and beside their name on the block report after checking their bags. The roving officer will keep the white copy of the store sheet and give the inmate the yellow copy of the store sheet for his or her records. After store call is complete all paperwork and plastic bins will be taken to the Supervisor s Office. Any store bags that are not delivered will also be stored in this area. All paperwork and unclaimed store goods will be stored in one or two bins (depending on the amount of goods) and should be left for Mrs. Carnell. Any damaged items can be disposed of as long as it is noted on both copies of the Inmate s Store Sheet as a shortage. Suicidal Proclamations When an inmate commits suicide, the consequences for the officer can be devastating. Inmates who talk about committing suicide should always be taken seriously and those who have previously attempted suicide or who have a history of mental illness should be watched closely. It is important that the staff advise their relief about any potentially suicidal inmates. When in doubt about an inmate s mental condition, it is better to err on the side of caution and assume that he/she is suicidal. When an inmate publically and formally announces that he/she is suicidal, the following steps should be taken: 1. Notify the tower operator, medical officer and shift supervisors immediately and simultaneously that the inmate has stated that they are suicidal. The inmate is basically declaring openly and clearly that they wish to cause themselves bodily harm. 2. Escort the individual to the Medical Infirmary Unit to have the Medical Staff evaluate the mental condition and status of the subject. 3. If the person is declared to be a threat to their self, then remove any potential suicide weapons from them, including clothing if necessary. 9
4. The inmate should be given a suicide gown to wear. No other clothing, sheets, towels, blankets or other articles are permitted in the cell unless authorized by the provider. 5. The inmate should be placed in an observation cell after all items have been removed from the inmate. 6. A Special Custody Log indicating that the inmate is on Suicide Watch will be produced for the staff to maintain minimum 15 minute checks. 7. All of the inmate s jail issued property and personal property from their sleeping area will be collected and transported to the property room. All items will be inventoried and properly stored. Tier Rotation The tiers will be on separate rotations with the top tier out first on even days and the bottom tier out first on odd days. Adhere to the posted schedule (a copy is included). Visitation Visitation is held on the weekends beginning on Fridays with the exception of the inmates assigned to the Medical Infirmary. Their visitation will be on Wednesdays. A copy of the visitation schedule is included. The inmates will have their jumpsuits on and buttoned and their shower shoes and wrist bands on while attending visitation. The visitation area is to be constantly monitored by the Direct Supervision Officer. Yard Call/Recreation Yard call is held Monday through Friday, weather permitting and excluding holidays. Yard call will be suspended if the real feel temperature exceeds 94 degrees Fahrenheit. It will also be suspended when the temperature drops below 45 degrees. Go to Accuweather.com for the Real Feel Temperature. At 88 degrees or higher, the basketball is to be taken. Yard call will be cancelled during rain or thunderstorms and when the pavement on the yard is wet. The inmates will have their jumpsuits on and buttoned and their shower shoes and wrist bands on while participating in yard call. Inmates will not be allowed to play basketball in their shower shoes or Crocs for medical reasons. Everyone must have on shoes (canvas) to shoot basketball. The yard is to be checked after use by each tier rotation to ensure that it remains contraband free. 10