The Pinal County Sheriff's Office is trying to fix almost 100 security and safety deficiencies at its detention facility in Florence that underwent a major renovation and expansion only 2 ½ years ago at a cost of millions to taxpayers.
Auditors said some deficiencies "were on the cusp" of violating inmates' constitutional rights, and at least one threatens a federal contract that pays millions to the county for housing immigration detainees.
What Sheriff Paul Babeu called "several glaring deficiencies" and "gaping holes in operations" at the Pinal County Detention Center were disclosed in an audit commissioned by the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool and conducted by a team of corrections experts Jan. 17 and 18.
That audit, conducted less than three weeks after Babeu took office, cited unsanitary conditions, a lack of basic life-saving training for roughly 90 percent of staff, and a broken climate control system that sent temperatures in some parts of the jail soaring from 60 degrees in the morning to over 90 by early afternoon.
Moreover, the audit suggested the jail constituted a public safety threat as well: It complained that some secured areas could be too easily breached by inmates.
Renovating and expanding the jail from 459 beds to a current 1,504 cost the bulk of a $65 million bond issue that county officials floated in 2005. The other public safety projects covered by the bond included a new deputies training facility with a firing range and a new 100-bed juvenile detention center.
Babeu and other officials declined to comment on how conditions deteriorated in a relatively short amount of time since the jail project was finished in July 2006.
The disparity in temperature recently prompted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to threaten Pinal with the cancellation of a multi-million dollar contract it has with the county to house up to 625 detainees.
Babeu said fixing the problems won't come cheap.
His jail command staff is evaluating several big-ticket repairs, such as improved climate control and a more than $343,000 kitchen overhaul that's needed as the result of water pooling and mold problems.
A $64,000 assessment of the jail's climate control system is set to begin this week, and jail officials expect most problems can be fixed on the spot.
Chief Deputy James Kimble said the audit's findings were "more egregious" on paper than in reality, such as its suggestion that the perimeter fence be raised from 8 to 12 feet, a height common for correctional facilities.
Kimble said detainees would have to breach six secured doors before reaching a perimeter fence that auditors said could be easily scaled. No escapes have occurred.
Still, Kimble conceded the audit found other problems that can't be ignored.
"It's not going to get fixed overnight," Kimble said. "Were there some things we had to address right away? Yes."
The jail staff paid immediate attention to cleanliness, he said.
In February, the jail purchased new machines for maintaining and cleaning floors; walls recently received a new coat of paint.
Detention staff in April also began training for CPR certification, and Kimble anticipates all jail personnel will be certified by the end of October.
Babeu's office also is changing the command structure, too. Last week, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the reclassification of eight positions that would allow for more supervisors on duty and improved oversight.
Kimble said top officials at the jail regularly meet with ICE to discuss the agency's concerns and he feels the contract is no longer in jeopardy.
Vincent Picard, spokesman for ICE in Arizona, said in an emailed message, "ICE will continue working with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office to address any issues regarding adherence to ICE's National Detention Standards."
In the meantime, jail officials are also working toward accreditation by the American Corrections Association.
Kimble said it's easy to get overwhelmed when tackling so many issues, most of which he and Babeu inherited when the sheriff took office Jan. 1.
"We kept getting barraged with a bunch of stuff," Kimble said. "We came in and it was kind of frightening. It was so vast that we stepped back, identified priorities and started tackling each issue as a team . . .
"It's baby steps."
Comment
The Sheriff won the election six months ago. He told us all of the problems we had and that is why he was able to promise us what he did: Here are your problems and I will fix them. Sheriff Joe even endorsed him. He took office four months ago and fired the head of the jail system as one of his first acts. Had the federal contract the entire time. His buddy is on the BOS now and this is the first time these critical conditions in the jail have merited news coverage?
"We kept getting barraged with a bunch of stuff." Yeah, we got the YouTube video with camerafraud.com right after he was sworn in as his first media event, the photo-radar petition signing in Phoenix as a media event, endorsing recall candidates (who lost) in AJ, his sergeant that was DUI after driving an S.O. vehicle to the range (but he still can't decide it he was ever behind the wheel), his staffing the S.O. with some of Chandler's best and worst...and now he is finally getting to these terrible jail conditions?
There was never a headline this guy wanted to miss. Good luck, Pinal. You are a good agency with good folks on board. We can survive Obama and Napolitano and you can survive the good Sheriff.
