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Report stresses need for team; Price says it'll happen
Consultants with a federal correctional agency have criticized Dallas County commissioners for failing to fund a transition team to plan for the opening of a different type of jail.
The National Institute of Corrections, a training and support agency within the Justice Department, said further delays could pose a public safety threat.
But Sheriff Lupe Valdez said construction delays that have postponed the opening of the four-story south tower have actually helped, giving county officials more time to put together a transition plan.
Dallas County commissioners have yet to fund the jail transition team the sheriff has requested to prepare for the opening of the $62 million jail tower in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center complex.
Sheriff Valdez requested about $288,000 for the transition team during last year's budget hearings.
The south tower will be the first county jail where guards are located inside inmate housing areas to provide direct supervision – a growing trend in jails across the country but a new concept for Dallas County.
With direct supervision, jail guards will be stationed inside each housing tank, sitting behind a desk on a raised platform, facing two levels of dormitory-style sleeping areas. Guards now monitor inmates from the outside, using security cameras and their own observations through the bars from hallways.
Sheriff's officials initially resisted the idea because of safety concerns, with guards being close to large numbers of inmates. It will reduce construction costs, however, and proponents say that direct supervision also improves inmate behavior and the jail's overall atmosphere.
Construction on the south tower was supposed to be completed by late 2008, but the new scheduled completion date is in 2009. Even then, the facility won't be ready to receive inmates. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has to give its approval before the doors can open.
"If the building was ready this year, it would have really hurt us," Sheriff Valdez said. "But it hasn't hurt us because the opening date keeps moving."
She requested on-site training from the National Institute of Corrections last year. In November, two consultants arrived for a four-day training session and later issued the report titled "How to Open a New Institution."
"To underestimate the immediate need for a transition team of sufficient size for the South Tower project would be unwise and irresponsible," the National Institute of Corrections' report said. "A premature opening will likely result in operational problems that could jeopardize public safety."
The 78-page report said that if the jail tower is opened prematurely, it could pose a safety threat to staff members, inmates and the public, as well as create major liability for the county. Other counties that did so experienced riots, escapes, staff injuries and lawsuits, the report said.
"The magnitude of this project is such that Dallas County cannot afford to continue its failure to recognize the importance of a transition team," the report said.
But county officials denied dragging their feet, saying they're waiting on the Sheriff's Department for details.
"They make it sound like there was resistance," Commissioner John Wiley Price said about the National Institute of Corrections' report. "We haven't rejected anything. The editorial comments in that report are just unwarranted."
Mr. Price said the report amounts to "Monday morning quarterbacking."
Sheriff Valdez said she's hoping commissioners will approve a transition team by the end of the month. Mr. Price said it'll be done by then.
Discussions are under way, the sheriff said, about how many people will be on the team and how to pay for it. The National Institute of Corrections' report recommended at least 12 members. It remains to be seen how much money commissioners will approve.
"Either way, there's going to be a transition team," Sheriff Valdez said. "There are a million things that can go wrong on opening day. We wanted to make sure the transition would be smooth enough."
If commissioners refuse to fund an adequate transition team, the Sheriff's Department should notify the state jail commission to "ensure they are not forced to open if they are not adequately prepared," the National Institute of Corrections report said.
The report also said the county should ensure adequate staffing for the new jail.
Dan Savage, the county's assistant Commissioners Court administrator, said the south tower construction delays were unavoidable.
First, contractors hit underground water pockets and debris such as railroad tracks while drilling for the support piers, he said. Then they unexpectedly found underground phone lines and data cabling that had to be replaced, Mr. Savage said.
Further delays could cause a timing problem.
County officials are hoping the south tower will be open by the time the Suzanne Kays jail is torn down early next year to make way for a new bridge across the Trinity River, connecting Woodall Rodgers with Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas.
If the south tower isn't ready by then, the inmates could be moved to available beds in the other jails, Mr. Savage said. But if jail crowding becomes a problem again, it could complicate matters, he said.
The Kays jail houses more than 1,000 inmates. The south tower will house about 2,300 inmates.
Sheriff Valdez said she believes there will be time to prepare for the new jail.
"This is going to be a totally new concept never done in Dallas County before," Sheriff Valdez said.