Statement made by Sue Jezorek June 21, 2007
Overcrowding in the Jail
The Kimme report referring to the Guilford County jail states: “this is one of the most striking examples of severe jail overcrowding that the consultants have encountered in over 25 years of jail planning practice.” Based on this week’s figures the problem of severe overcrowding continues, and although people may differ on ways to solve the problem the consequences of overcrowding cannot be ignored.
In 1994 the County had a study done on the jail situation and the master plan then recommended a new 768 bed jail projected to meet jail system needs until 2012. The County did not build a new jail but created many alternative, prevention, and treatment programs and turned the vacant E and F floors at the jail into inmate cells. In spite of these efforts the jail population exceeded projections by over 100 inmates per day by 2005. The population of Guilford County continues to grow rapidly and unfortunately it is unrealistic to think that this growth will only be people who will not end up in jail. In fact the rate of growth of the jail population has grown even faster than county population over the last 20 years as has been the case throughout the United States. The Kimme report said that to meet minimum standards the average daily population would have to be reduced by 30% while the county population grows by 30%.
Keep in mind that the square footage allowed to inmates in Greensboro is based on grandfathered standards that pre-date the 1990s. Existing single cells are 41 sq. ft. while national standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections require 52-56 sq. feet per cell minimum. Four bed cells in Greensboro are about 83 sq. ft. while current NC standards require 155 sq. ft. or nearly double the current size.
One principal of jail security to ensure the safety of staff, visitors, and inmates is to be able to classify inmates and separate them effectively. Classification examples are male and female, 16-17 year old juveniles, medical with contagious diseases, mental health issues, intoxicated, suicidal, maximum and medium custody, and inmate workers. Professionals in jail work believe that once the jail reaches 90% capacity classification and separation problems begin. In light of this it is obvious that the overcrowding in Greensboro is leading to increased safety concern.
One of the important issues is the spread of diseases when inmates with known contagious diseases or those requiring medical observation cannot be separated from the general population. This could create very serious problems if the disease were to spread.
The inability to separate members of different gangs increases the already tense conditions for the inmates. When 8 inmates are crowded into one small dayroom with little for distraction but TV the presence of rival gang members only increases chances of a fight breaking out. Unfortunately there was a fight recently in the jail that resulted in one inmate dying.
The lack of emergency exit in case of a fire is another hazard. If there were to be a fire the few staff would not be able to get large numbers of inmates out and a real tragedy could occur. It is very important to realize that if any one of these events occurs the county could face a lawsuit that could end up costing more than the price of a new jail.
Another problem is the lack of adequate support service spaces including the laundry, storage, visiting, kitchen etc. It is much more difficult to keep spaces neat and clean and items are stored in hallways increasing the congestion. There is also very little space to use for programs that could be offered in jail to help inmates deal with their problems and almost no space for any physical exercise which again adds to the tense atmosphere.
The inmates are not the only ones dealing with crowded conditions. The space for staff is inadequate in terms of bathroom facilities, lunchroom, and locker room where they could clean up after dealing with messy situations. It is a very difficult and high risk job, and morale among staff suffers when the work space provides very little comfort or sense that the employees are valued by the community they serve.
We have heard that if Guilford County does not do something soon to correct the problem of severe overcrowding the government will step in and take over the system building a jail and charging the county for it. Forsyth county was forced to build a new jail when inmates there filed a lawsuit against the county for the terrible conditions in the jail, and Mecklenburg county also faced legal action due to its poor facilities.
We believe that Guilford County would be better off designing our own jail and deciding how to finance it and hope that the CC will move soon to correct this problem.