WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The frequency of inmate checks at the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita has decreased amid low staffing levels and a policy change.
The Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/1kms6DS ) reports two previous jail policies that were in effect from June 2013 to June 24, 2015, called for what are referred to as “physical rounds” to be conducted every 30 minutes. According to the sheriff’s office, the checks require a deputy to visually check an inmate to ensure that the inmate is doing well.
The new policy says inmate checks should be reasonably spaced throughout a deputy’s shift and not more than two hours apart in maximum-security areas. Due to a lack of staff members, Sheriff Jeff Easter has said that increasing rounds deputies make in the higher-security pods is “virtually impossible.” Easter said in October that jail staffing was down to 67 from a full staff of about 300.
The sheriff says it’s difficult to have a second deputy, called a rover, to check the inmates’ areas while another deputy staffs the control station. Jail policy says if a second deputy is not available, a supervisor is supposed to be contacted. The policy also says that a visual check may be used to substitute a physical round if a rover is not available.
According to Ken Kerle, managing editor with the American Jail Association from 1986 to 2009, inmate checks should be conducted every 30 minutes regardless of whether inmates are in higher-security or lower-security pods and the current policy at the Sedgwick County Jail is not enough. The American Jail Association is a national, nonprofit organization that supports those who operate jails across the country.
Kerle says that the frequency of inmate checks is important for mentally ill inmates and because it could help prevent a suicide. However, there is no national standard on how frequently jail inmates should be checked and it varies from state to state.
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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, https://www.kansas.com
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