By Aly Van Dyke
CJ Online
TOPEKA, Kan. — In the past, genitalia dictated how one would be strip-searched, housed and addressed at the Shawnee County Jail.
Then, the jail started receiving transgender inmates — three in the past year alone — and the administration realized it would have to develop a more robust program to house these individuals. A process, Shawnee County corrections director Brian Cole said, that would maintain their dignity and ensure safety, both for the inmate and the rest of the population.
“We want to make sure someone isn’t playing the system, but we can’t just throw them in segregation,” Cole said of transgender inmates. “That would be unfair and humiliating.”
In the past year, the jail has developed and implemented a policy to handle transgender inmates. It went from holding the inmates in segregation or medical to a full-blown evaluation process to determine if the transgender inmates are being genuine, and, if so, what needs they have.
Strip-searches are performed by two people. If a man identifies as a woman, a female guard examines the inmate’s top, and a male guard performs the search below the belt.
Cole proudly recalled one transgender female inmate who was housed with the female population. By the time she left, he said, she was pleading not to be sent to another facility because of how respected she felt in Shawnee County.
Full story: Shawnee County Jail works to improve conditions for transgender inmates