Principles for success as a CO: Agency policy and procedure

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In what is the sixth of a nine-part series, I outline what I call the “Corrections Formula,” an easy way to remember nine principles to optimize your success as a correctional officer.

The formula is designed to guide your thoughts, decisions and actions so you develop an operational mindset where officer safety is your top priority, professionalism is your foundation and legality is your path.

There are three elements of the corrections formula:

1. Safety;
2. Legality;
3. Professionalism.

Each of these three elements contain three principles that make up the nine principles for success:

1. Officer safety – Your top priority and your duty to yourself and your coworkers.
2. Facility safety – Your duty to the communities you serve.
3. Inmate safety – Your duty to those you have been entrusted to protect.
4. Federal law – The U.S. Constitution, which shapes state law, major acts of congress and case law.
5. State law – The laws and statutes of the state, which guide your facility’s operations and practices.
6. Agency policy and procedure – The guardrails that keep you on the path of legality and in compliance with the law.
7. Guardianship – Your purpose as a correctional officer and why you do what you do.
8. Health and wellness – Maintaining both physical and mental wellness.
9. Firm, fair and consistent –The golden rule in being the same professional every day.

This month we look at the sixth principle, policy.

Principle 6: agency policy and procedure

When the funnel of legality finally gets down to the policies and procedures that guide the facility you work at, you must remember that with foreshadowing cases and major acts of congress, it will continue to evolve. With that being said, you must study and keep current with the policies and procedures of your agency.

Knowing policy will help keep you:

• Confident and competent in your decisions and actions;
• Credible and trusted by both staff and inmates.

While policies are there to protect the interests of the agency, staff and inmates, policies do not provide every answer to every scenario. Practical wisdom and discretion go a long way to guiding you when you are faced with those situations the policy does not cover.

Remember to not be afraid to make suggestions for better, safer and more efficient ways of doing things. As legal issues continue to evolve, so should policy and procedure. Below are some current trends that are evolving the policies, procedures and practices at our agencies, as well as some key points to remember.

SUICIDE LIABILITY

Almost all jails and prisons are required to perform suicide screenings and offer suicide prevention programs. The courts look at three things in terms of suicide liability:

• Failure to identify;
• Failure to monitor;
• Failure to respond.

You can be sued under state law for negligence. It is your agency’s and your duty to protect those who are incarcerated in your facilities.

Here are two cases that involve deliberate indifference:

• Farmer v Brennan (1994): This decision held that inmates must prove correctional personnel knew about a “strong likelihood” of risk that threatened the prisoner’s health or safety and consciously and recklessly disregarded it. Although this case did not specifically address prisoner suicide, lower courts have applied the legal standard of deliberate indifference to this issue.
• Freedman v City of Allentown (1989): An inmate who killed himself had shown a probation officer scars all over his body from previous attempts. The courts saw this as both negligent and deliberate indifference.

Slow down, pay attention to the warning signs and trust your gut. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

If you suspect an inmate of being suicidal, notify your supervisor, and document what was said or done, and the actions that were taken.

Never leave a suicidal inmate alone! Only mental health staff should clear inmates off of suicide watch.

OPIATE USE AND DETOXIFICATION

About 70% of the jail population are drug users, 80% of which are opiate users. Avoid having a jaded mindset that sees those undergoing detox as just another “drug-using inmate.” Be reasonable, be objective and remember that life is the core of all core values. You have been entrusted to protect it behind the walls.

Just because an inmate is young does not mean that they will be fine. If they are thin, they are at a higher risk of death. If they have diarrhea or if they are vomiting, they are at risk of dying from dehydration. Notify medical, notify your supervisor and document all pertinent information.

In Crowell v Cowlitz County (2015), a young inmate who was booked in on a misdemeanor warrant was detoxing from heroin. Normal detox protocol was followed (medical was notified). During his detox, he fell off of his bunk, began vomiting and eventually died. A lawsuit was filed and the courts found that the jail was not deliberate indifferent. When it comes to opiate use and detoxification, 83% of all in-custody deaths are related to drug and alcohol withdrawals. The human body simply cannot handle the rapid decline of the needed drug, causing a rapid neurological shock when the body is without the drug.

Some alternative solutions agencies are looking at to try and reduce the liability from in-custody deaths are methadone and suboxone programs. These programs help minimize dangerous detoxification, ultimately reducing the risk of potential death while in custody. These programs have a success rate of 33% for quitting the drug, whereas quitting without any form of assistance is at 3%.

MENTALLY ILL INMATES

Some states mandate that all persons who are incarcerated have access to mental health services, and those services should not be limited by a person’s history of confinement in any federal, state or local correctional facility. Remember that people who are in a mental health crisis are more likely to have encounters with police than receive the actual help they need. As a result, approximately 2 million people with mental illness are booked into jail each year. Below are some things to remember:

• Approximately 64% of the jail population has some sort of mental illness, with a large percentage of that population experiencing chemical dependency and substance abuse. This percentage continues to rise.
• Approximately 76% percent of jail inmates who have a mental health problem are dependent on, or abused alcohol or drugs.
• When dealing with inmates who are severely mentally ill, be patient, be flexible and do not take things personally. Stay objective, be reasonable, and try to fix the problem, not the person.
• Notify mental health, notify your supervisor and point to the right resources.
• Document all unusual circumstances, behavior and all reasonable efforts made.
• Only mental health providers should clear inmates off suicide watch.

RESTRICTIVE HOUSING

Another area subject to litigation is restrictive housing without reason. According to the DOJ, anything less than 4 hours a day is seen as “restrictive housing” no matter what you call it (specialized, ad-seg, observation). Even if it is for medical observation or some reason other than disciplinary, it is still legally seen as the county or city’s problem since they are the ones detaining the individual; and it is still “restrictive housing.” Below are some things to remember:

When someone is placed in restrictive housing, the reason must serve some penological interest. The safety and security of the facility always come first, just be sure to document and articulate your reason for placing individuals in restrictive housing.

According to federal law, inmates are required showers and access to legal counsel and grievances at least every 72 hours, 1 hour a day in restrictive housing and 4 hours for general population. Anything otherwise must be documented.

The DOJ encourages agencies to seek alternative solutions for restrictive housing. Unfortunately, behavior and certain situations dictate an inmate’s time out of their cell. Just remember to be reasonable, be creative and that boredom is one of the biggest enemies used against you. Keeping those in restrictive housing occupied in their thinking brain keeps them out of an emotional brain, meaning less disruption and easier to manage. Look at things like activities, pointing to resources and future-oriented thinking; and document those efforts made.

INMATE RELEASES

Releasing inmates back into the community can be a risk if the wrong inmate is released, or an inmate who has severe physical or mental health issues is released to the community without proper planning. Below are some things to remember:

• The DOJ believes inmates in restrictive housing should not be released directly to the community without some kind of release planning.
• For inmates that are getting released, ask questions and identify if there should be some release planning. Are they able to care for themselves? Are they mentally ill? Do they have anywhere to go? If they are taking medication, will they be able to access that medication upon release? Do they need to be released to a medical facility?
• Providing humane treatment and services for the inmates in your care also can help some individuals successfully reintegrate back into society.
• It should go without say, do not release the wrong inmates.

PAT/CLOTHED SEARCHES

Security searches such as pat/clothed searches are tasks corrections officers conduct routinely throughout their day. They are generally authorized and should be conducted:

When there is suspicion of contraband, and you do not need reasonable suspicion to conduct a pat/clothed search.

• At random.
• For the safety and security of the facility and staff.
• After any inmate transport or movement.
• Only staff who are the same gender as the offender, except in EMERGENCY/EXIGENT situations, should conduct pat/clothed searches. Exigent circumstances are any set of temporary and unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action to combat a threat to the security or institutional order of a facility.
• Staff should be proficiently trained on the skills needed to conduct a proper pat/clothed search so that the searches are professional, reasonable, systematic, thorough and objective.

STRIP SEARCHES

A strip search is generally authorized and should be conducted:

• If there is a reasonable suspicion to believe a strip search is necessary to discover weapons, criminal evidence, contraband or any other thing concealed on the body of the person to be searched, that constitutes a threat to the security of a correctional facility.
• If there is a reasonable suspicion to believe a strip search is necessary to discover a health condition requiring immediate medical attention.
• When there is prior knowledge of incarceration.
• On a person arrested on a violent offense, or an offense involving escape, burglary, the use of a deadly weapon or possession of a drug or controlled substance.
• Strip searches should be authorized by a shift supervisor.
• Strip searches should only be conducted by staff who are the same gender as the offender.
• Strip searches should be documented (time, place, person, results of the search) The documentation should be maintained.
• Staff should be proficiently trained on the skills needed to conduct a proper strip search, this way the strip searches remain professional, reasonable, systematic, thorough and objective.

With all of the above, proper supervision is critical to ensuring that a facility’s policies and practices comply with all state statutes and laws. Quality control comes down to frontline supervision.