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OGDEN — Utah is one of about 20 states without statewide rules on jail inspections or independent oversight of county jails, something the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah said it wants to see changed.
Utah needs transparent rules about the standards for local jails, particularly in the wake of a string of jail suicides and deaths linked to health problems and drug addictions, ACLU spokeswoman Anna Thomas said.
"There is little to no substantive oversight, there are no baseline standards established for all jails, there is no punishment for when conditions are terrible," Thomas said.
The Utah Sheriffs' Association, a nonprofit group representing Utah's 29 county sheriffs, conducts voluntary inspections of local jails that the sheriffs themselves are legally responsible for, and jails that fail those voluntary inspections don't face penalties.
"That's not exactly the gold standard of independent review," Thomas said.
When the Utah Sheriffs Association inspects county jails, it bases those reviews on standards set by a jail consultant and former Utah state prison director, Gary DeLand.
DeLand said his standards include 600 benchmarks that jails need to follow in order to keep jails safe and legal.
DeLand's standards aren't publicly available, according to the Standard-Examiner, but some counties have customized the standards and made those publicly available.
"The standards are very well done, and they are absolutely in use as models in other states, and are updated frequently," Utah Sheriffs Association spokesman Reed Richards said. "Of course, each jail has a responsibility to live by the standards."
"For a variety of reasons, people in jail are depressed and have a lot of challenges," Richards said. "There are clearly a lot of deaths, most of them suicides, and I think everyone is in favor of trying to find ways to prevent that."
Thomas said Utah needs a more transparent, accountable system with independent checks on jails that could face penalties like the state withholding money or closing jails.
For a variety of reasons, people in jail are depressed and have a lot of challenges. There are clearly a lot of deaths, most of them suicides, and I think everyone is in favor of trying to find ways to prevent that.
–Reed Richards, Utah Sheriffs Association spokesman
County jails with contracts to house state prisoners, including Davis County, are inspected by the state Department of Corrections regularly, and facilities that have contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are inspected by those federal agencies.
Davis County Sheriff Todd Richardson said that between the different reviews, his jail is inspected at least three times a year. Richardson said he doesn't think additional checks are needed because the state Corrections Department has contracts with most jails and is already inspecting them.
Jerry Pope, the director of prison operations for the Utah Corrections Department, said his agency is looking to toughen its contracts with county jails this year, requiring local officials to take immediate actions to fix safety or security issues, instead of giving them time to make changes.
The ACLU would like to see the state take steps to address inmate suicides, addictions and medical issues behind bars, along with independent checks, Thomas said. The ACLU is considering lobbying state lawmakers and possibly taking legal action to push the issue, she said.
