tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post2072945447729667280..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Privately run McLennan jail mired in problemsGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-24845503640199018702015-12-28T15:15:38.954-06:002015-12-28T15:15:38.954-06:00@A Wacoan
That is exactly what they want you to be...@A Wacoan<br />That is exactly what they want you to believe. The poor old current elected officials are completely unable to do anything about the mess left for them. It's George Bushes fault. The fact is the current bunch is worse than what we had before. The former were able to make a buck but did not sit around and lament how difficult their job was. The REAL problem is institutional incompetence supported by the electorate.<br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Race4McLennanSheriff/" rel="nofollow">Race for McLennan County Sheriff</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Texas-PIA-258233677677858/" rel="nofollow">Texas Public Information Act</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/McLennanCountyBudget/" rel="nofollow">Taxpayers Concenrned about the budget.</a>MCJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18228033010913514805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-78207947818059600772015-12-28T14:15:07.866-06:002015-12-28T14:15:07.866-06:00The real problem is the former County Judge and Co...The real problem is the former County Judge and Commissioners, who have left office after benefiting friends through the financing of the jail. All of the bonds were sold in a lot at a higher interest rate than necessary, at a time when rates were expected to fall, as they did in weeks. Then the company that bought the bonds sold them at a profit, and a number of influential and wealthy friends made a quick financial killing. The company went out of existence immediately after selling the bonds and distributing the proceeds.A Wacoannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-14627413154737974452015-12-28T06:53:34.286-06:002015-12-28T06:53:34.286-06:00From the above article: "But recent efforts ...From the above article: "But recent efforts have gone a long way toward making a big difference. Since the 2010 report, about 1,500 cameras have been mounted across the jail system at a cost of almost $1 million. Staff movements are now tracked to ensure guards are checking on inmates. Thousands of officers have been trained to recognize the signs of sexual abuse, and how to handle it, whether it happened between inmates or involved one of their own colleagues. Posters and a video were produced to tell inmates about new ways they can report abuse, including an anonymous hotline. Local police are now notified of every allegation."<br /><br />TRAINING, MONITORING, REPORTING, AND ACCOUNTABILITY WORK. GOOD OL'BOYS way of doing things DOES NOT WORK, but it does put money into pockets. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26150639099774150262015-12-28T06:48:45.043-06:002015-12-28T06:48:45.043-06:00Inmate rape has long been a plague of jails and pr...Inmate rape has long been a plague of jails and prisons, but Miami’s jailers didn’t think they had a real problem. That changed abruptly in 2010, when a federal report listed one of the city’s five jails, the Pretrial Detention Center, as one of the worst in America for inmate sexual abuse.Designed more than a half century ago, the center is a warren of dark corridors and dense rows of bunk beds. A survey of inmates by the Bureau of Justice Statistics five years ago found that the inmates were sexually abused at four times the national average. At the time, the only direct supervision took place when guards made their hourly rounds.Five years later, the detention center, as well as the system’s four other facilities, are being recognized as a national model for prevention by Just Detention International, an advocacy organization that works to stop prison rape and that partnered with the jail to address the problem. In July 2014, a federal audit found that Miami’s system, the country’s eighth largest, became one of the first large urban jails to comply with federal prison standards for protecting inmates from sexual assault. It was a “monumental achievement,” a federal monitor wrote in 2014. The achievement is even more notable, given the jail’s notorious history of violence, overcrowding, and lack of treatment for the mentally ill.Is Miami’s system problem-free? Hardly. But recent efforts have gone a long way toward making a big difference. Since the 2010 report, about 1,500 cameras have been mounted across the jail system at a cost of almost $1 million. Staff movements are now tracked to ensure guards are checking on inmates. Thousands of officers have been trained to recognize the signs of sexual abuse, and how to handle it, whether it happened between inmates or involved one of their own colleagues. Posters and a video were produced to tell inmates about new ways they can report abuse, including an anonymous hotline. Local police are now notified of every allegation. But staff members say the most significant improvement has been changing the attitudes of the officers and managers themselves.The threat of sexual abuse was a laughing matter to many before the jail began its changes. “I used to tease guys about it, making soap-on-a-rope jokes, thinking I’m being humorous,” said Capt. John Johnson, who was supervisor of the detention center when it was rated on of the worst in the country. The news had come as a shock. “It was embarrassing,” Johnson said. “To be perfectly blunt, at first, I wanted to fight it. I kept thinking, these numbers can’t be right.” He came to accept the survey results, and is now a leader in many of the jail’s prevention efforts.The size and complexity of the system complicates reform. With over 1,000 inmates on some type of psychiatric drugs, Miami’s jail system is the largest institution for mentally ill people in Florida. It also books a new inmate every seven to eight minutes, which strains the aging structures. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/12/28/miami-s-notorious-jail-fights-back-against-rape?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=opening-statement&utm_term=newsletter-20151228-350#.wtzxju6Pk<br /><br />DO WE NEED THE FEDS TO COME TO TEXAS?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-15077104413487457352015-12-28T06:44:05.616-06:002015-12-28T06:44:05.616-06:00For the public, the jail has been plagued by "...For the public, the jail has been plagued by "problems". For the folks who died there and for their families, the jail has been plagued by negligent homicides. For the stockholders and others involved in the financial dealings: I hope they enjoy their blood money long enough for karma to pay them back tenfold. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73777952602016056442015-12-27T21:10:32.761-06:002015-12-27T21:10:32.761-06:00The authors give a pass to the Sheriff who is up f...The authors give a pass to the Sheriff who is up for re-election. They accurately attribute culpability to the County Judge but he is not on the ballot. The editorial also clouds the issue with the write up from the Commission. The write up was not over the private jail it was over the county jail run by the sheriff. All indications are, McLennan County will re-elect a sheriff who is photogenic but is surrounded by an ever increasing number of dead bodies. R.S. Gateshttps://www.facebook.com/randall.s.gatesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66262935756408310152015-12-27T19:38:42.706-06:002015-12-27T19:38:42.706-06:00Might that occupancy requirement been driving the ...Might that occupancy requirement been driving the long-term detention of all those bikers arrested in Waco? We will never know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com