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Early Word From Jail Review Panel: Kudos, Suggestions

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By THOMAS W.  KRAUSE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

Updated: 05/09/2008 04:15 pm

TAMPA - Some administrative procedures at Hillsborough County jails need of tweaking, according to an ongoing audit of the policies.

An independent review commission charged with studying the policies, practices and procedures at the county's two jails released a preliminary report.

A final report is due Sept. 1.

The commission was formed in February after a surveillance video was released that showed inmate Brian Sterner being dumped from a wheelchair by a detention deputy who was trying to search him. Sterner, who is paralyzed from the chest down, had been arrested on a traffic-related charge.

Among the comments in the preliminary report was a commendation to the jail for monthly meetings where inmates can report concerns to jail staff.

The preliminary report also has praise for training at the jails, saying an emphasis is placed on verbal skills to achieve inmate cooperation.

Still, the report says, certain policies can be misunderstood by inmates. As an example, the preliminary report mentions that jail deputies tape papers to the glass walls of the cells. The papers document how often inmates have been checked by deputies. One inmate complained that he had been mistreated and accused deputies of taping the paper to the glass wall to prevent a surveillance camera from catching the misconduct.

The report also says that employees might not know policies and operating procedures because of the way the policies are disseminated to employees.

The commission commends Sheriff David Gee for setting up the independent commission and says it is not the first time the sheriff's office has asked for outside help to curb a perceived problem. In 2001, after three suicides at the jail, an independent review offered suggestions that were adopted to help suicide prevention, according to the report.

In the next several months, commission members will meet with the chief judge, state attorney, public defender and others.

Much of the commission's preliminary report is devoted to the amount of work the commissioners still need to do, including conducting a review of grievances and completed internal affairs investigations. The commission also will complete a review of jail policies and procedures, revisit booking and housing areas, and interview or survey jail personnel regarding training needs.

After the preliminary report was released, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued a statement.

"Sheriff David Gee would like to thank Dr. Jim Sewell and the members of the Independent Review Commission on Jails for all of their hard work since the commission's first meeting on March 10, 2008," the sheriff's office release states. "Over the past two months, commission members have voluntarily spent a great deal of time and effort in their endeavors to examine the policies, practices and procedures of the Orient Road and Falkenburg Road jails.

"Sheriff Gee …and his staff take the contents of the Preliminary Report very seriously and over the next several weeks will review the commission's comments and recommendations."

The preliminary report can be seen at http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/IRCoJ/Preliminary_Repo....

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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