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LOGAN -- Cache County Jail has become the first jail to be accredited by a new program offered by the National Sheriffs' Association.
Of 594 guidelines, ranging from "core" issues like safety and "non-core" issues like programs available to inmates, the jail achieved 100 percent compliance with every last guideline.
"It's something that reflects on my employees because it's something they have done and accomplished," said Sheriff G. Lynn Nelson.
Though several programs exist, the NSA's Jail Accreditation Pilot Program is designed to follow closely established case law regarding jails.
According to Tate McCotter, who works with the NSA Jail Training Initiative, other accreditations may not line up as closely with how laws have been interpreted and cases decided in the past. This leaves jails open to litigation and bad publicity the Jail Training initiative seeks to prevent.
"It takes a lot of time to be able to prove that you're doing what you're doing," McCotter said.
"What it really means is that we're maintaining a pretty high level of standards that are now nationally recognized," Nelson said.
Both Weber and Utah counties have also entered into the beginning stages of this program.
