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Juvenile female inmate sexually assaulted at the Brevard County jail

Sexual abuse in Florida jails and prisons - why the system just doesn't care

Updated
February 22, 2012

"Most police corruption is to look the other way, and to protect someone -- not to do jobs"- Joseph King

UPDATES - February 22, 2012

Not all reports are releasable as public records, due to an on-going criminal investigation.

According to recent local media accounts, a juvenile female inmate was sexually assaulted in the Brevard County jail.

So, how is that possible? Doesn't Florida have regulations against male and female inmates having contact with each other? Does Florida keep the adult inmates separated from the juvenile inmates?

The answer to both the above questions is, yes. Florida does have regulations against male / female and adult / juvenile inmate populations having contact with each other. However, what must be understood is, that since 1996 Florida county jails have suffered less of a consequence, should these jail populations come into contact with each other.

Currently, and since 1996, Florida county jails have been answerable to regulations commonly referred to as Florida Model Jail Standards (FMJS). Prior to FMJS, the jails were regulated under the authority of Florida Administrative Code 33-8 (FAC 33-8).

Under FAC 33-8, jails were routinely inspected by Florida State officials, and such matters as inmate deaths, inmate medical concerns, and sexual assaults, (especially of juvenile female inmates) would have been independently investigated by the State Prison Inspector.

The FAC 33-8 inspection system was a good system of checks and balances, whereas, State officials inspected jails ran by County officials, usually the County Sheriff.

However, in 1996, the Florida State legislature bowed to pressures from law enforcement unions and the Florida Sheriff Association, and replaced the FAC 33-8 inspection system with the FMJS system. The biggest problem with the FMJS system is that it is ran and supervised by the Florida Sheriff Association, the very individuals the system is meant to inspect.

Further, while participation in the FAC 33-8 inspection process was mandatory, participation in the new FMJS system is voluntary.

The FAC 33-8 had strict penalties attached to confirmed violations, while the FMJS voluntary system had no such penalties.

Current FMJS regulations, regarding the mixing of adult and juvenile inmates reads as follows:

FMJS (18.01) (a) When a juvenile has been transferred for prosecution as an adult by direct file, waiver or grand jury indictment or is wanted by another jurisdiction for prosecution as an adult, the juvenile shall be housed separately from adult inmates to prohibit the juvenile from having regular contact with incarcerated adults, including inmate workers. "Regular contact" means sight and sound contact. Separation of juveniles from adults shall permit no more than haphazard or accidental contact.

Current FMJS regulations, regarding the mixing of male and female inmates reads as follows:

FMJS (5.02) Male and female inmates shall not share the same cell and shall be separated by sight and normal sound in housing areas. For purposes of housing, sound separation is defined as restricting normal verbal communications

So clearly, FMJS does have regulations regarding the above situation. However, there is a big difference in simply having regulations, and having a system in place to ensure proper investigation and compliance with those regulations.

VolusiaExposed assigns a failing grade to the current FMJS system, and our position is shared by others in the community.

Clearly, the Florida Model Jail Standards system is failing to ensure and maintain acceptable standards within Florida jails. Allowing our Florida sheriffs to self inspect each others' jail needs to be discontinued. As is indicated in the above articles, Florida should return to the system (as was defined in Florida Administrative Code 33-8), whereas, the State of Florida inspected and regulated county jails.