Sheriff seeks funding to add positions to oversee new COs
KEVIN KRAUSE
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS COUNTY, Texas — Now that Dallas County’s guard-to-inmate ratio is finally up to state standards, another ratio is out of whack.
The north and west towers of the Lew Sterrett Justice Center - the county’s two largest jail buildings - do not have an adequate number of jail guard supervisors, according to sheriff’s officials.
Supervisory levels in those two maximum-security towers have fallen behind the other three jails. Guards may not even see a supervisor during their shifts on some floors, officials say.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez will again ask for more supervisor positions as budget workshops commence this year. But it remains to be seen whether county commissioners will fund them.
The county’s recent aggressive hiring spree - spurred by federal jail oversight demands - has made matters worse. When federal regulators told Dallas County a couple of years ago that its jails were dangerously understaffed, county commissioners loosened the purse strings to add more than 400 jail guard positions.
That has allowed the county - with the help of overtime - to meet the state staffing minimum of one guard for every 48 inmates.
But commissioners didn’t allocate enough new supervisor positions. Each of the five jails has about 10 front-line supervisors - about three for each shift. In the Decker, Kays and George Allen jails, which have between 109 and 117 guards, that comes to about one front-line supervisor for every dozen or so guards.
But in the north tower, which has about 400 guards, the ratio is one supervisor for every 40 guards. In the west tower, it’s one supervisor for every 32 guards.
Not state mandated
State regulations do not stipulate how many jail guards must be supervisors. As long as there is one guard for every 48 inmates, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards is happy.
“That is strictly a local decision,” said Adan Munoz, executive director of the jail commission. “That’s management style.”
Sheriff Valdez asked commissioners to fund 34 more supervisor positions in the north and west towers last year, but her request wasn’t granted. In a news release, she said the supervisor shortage in those towers is below department standards.
“Providing adequate oversight and management is key to continuing our progress toward jail compliance,” she said in the statement.
Discussions about the sheriff’s request for next fiscal year’s budget are under way. County staff and sheriff’s officials met Thursday.
But the outcome is unclear.
Looking for a reason
Commissioner John Wiley Price, who holds weekly meetings on jail matters, said the Sheriff’s Department has to show what value additional supervision will bring.
“What am I going to get by adding supervisors to the equation?” he asked.
The answer, at least so far, has not been given, Mr. Price said.
Budget Director Ryan Brown said each jail floor “doesn’t necessarily need” a supervisor. That’s because guards, he said, don’t need direct supervision at all times. Their main job is to sit and watch inmates in a dayroom, Mr. Brown said.
But most guard misbehavior has occurred in the absence of a supervisor, sheriff’s officials say.
Last May, for example, four female guards roughed up two inmates in the north tower jail after pulling them from housing tanks for no justifiable reason, according to an internal investigation. The four guards were seen laughing and high-fiving one another afterward, the report said.
Tamesha Crutcher was fired in November after the internal investigation found that she used unnecessary force in restraining an inmate without just cause in the incident. Two other guards were also fired. A fourth guard was suspended without pay because she was the only one who told the truth, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
Executive Chief Deputy Jesse Flores said there are fewer incidents of inmate abuse when supervisors are nearby. He said his jail supervisors are overworked. Supervisors should be on every floor, he said, to suspend guards immediately if they find them violating policy.
“When you have supervision, it’s more cost-effective in the long run,” Chief Flores said.
In Dallas County Jails, guards are civilians and not sworn law officers. The most urgent need is for more detention service supervisors - the civilian equivalent of a sergeant - who must rate highly on written exams.
Above them are detention service managers, the equivalent of a lieutenant. They report to the jail commander, a captain who is a sworn law enforcement officer.
Too few supervisors?
Dallas County Sheriff’s Department officials say the number of supervisors in the two large maximum-security jail towers has fallen below acceptable standards. Here are the staffing levels in five jail buildings.
Copyright 2008 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS