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Are The Problems At The Gulf County Jail Indicative Of The Importance Of Having Enforceable Statewide Jail Standards? Are Florida Model Jail Standards Failing The Citizens Of Florida? |
April 14, 2014 |
"Police throughout the United States have been caught fabricating, planting, and manipulating evidence to obtain convictions where cases would otherwise be very weak. Some authorities regard police perjury as so rampant that it can be considered a "subcultural norm rather than an individual aberration" of police officers."
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(FMJS) Florida's Paper Mache Jail Oversight System As stated in our earlier article, representatives from VolusiaExposed.Com attended the March 14, 2014 Florida Model Jail Standards (FMJS) committee meeting held in Jacksonville, Florida. In our earlier article VolusiaExposed promised our readers further details and insight on why the FMJS inspection process is failing to identify, correct and enforce minimum county jail safety and security standards within all 67 Florida counties. Initially, VolusiaExposed.Com experienced some difficulty securing public records from FMJS officials. Those difficulties were highlighted within our previous article. Fortunately, with the assistance of Joel Chandler from CitizensAwarenessFoundation.Org, we were able to educate FMJS officials to be in proper compliance with Florida public record laws. In a March 21, 2014 email Assistant Chief M. Devlin admitted their failures to comply with Florida public records law, and their efforts to correct and educate their staff. From that point on, VolusiaExposed experienced no further problems, from FMJS officials, in obtaining the records necessary for this article. Once again, VolusiaExposed can NOT overly express our appreciation to Joel Chandler and CitizensAwarenessFoundation.Org. While we (VolusiaExposed) appreciate that FMJS officials are now complying with Florida public record laws, we are still left questioning whether FMJS officials are accomplishing their task of insuring that Florida county jails are operated in a safe and secure manner. |
FMJS Committee Meeting Jacksonville, Florida Isaiah Dennard and Jacksonville County Sheriff Rutherford Compares the FMJS and FAC 33-8 Inspection Processes Donna Assures The FMJS Committee That From Now On Medical Inspectors Will Be Qualified. The FMJS Of The Existence Of Fire Code Violations Going Back To 1996 (Sgt. Dukes Speaks Somewhat Softly) |
The FMJS inspection process came into existence on October 1, 1996. On that date, the Florida Legislature ordained the Florida Sheriffs Association as the governing body regarding all county jail inspections within the State of Florida.
Repealed on that same date (October 1, 1996), were the jail standards under Florida Administrative Code 33-8 (FAC33-8).
So what are the differences in the FMJS (new) process compared to the FAC33-8 (old) process?
Well, according to Mr. Isaiah Dennard, a representative of the Florida Sheriffs Association (see above video), FMJS initially incorporated the entire standards of the FAC 33-8 process. Mr. Dennard's statement is only partially accurate. While it is true that the FMJS initially incorporated many of the FAC 33-8 standards and responsibilities - there were some standards that were immediately dropped under FMJS.
Under the FAC33-8 process - all in custody jail deaths were independently investigated by the prison inspector (Office of Inspector General - Fl-DOC). No such requirement is authorized under the FMJS inspection process.
IN FACT, unlike FAC 33-8, none of the standards within FMJS are mandated. Participation in the FMJS inspection process is totally voluntary, some jails, like the Gulf County jail refuse to even participate. We invite you to review the below attached videos from two August 2013 meetings of the Gulf County County Commission, whereas the majority of the commission supported the jail director's recommendation not to participate in FMJS.
Under the FAC33-8 inspection process - participation was mandated by Florida law - failure to comply, could result in both civil and criminal sanctions. The prison inspector could literally close the doors of any jail.
We (VolusiaExposed) sadly agree with many of the comments of Mr. Hammond, the Gulf County jail director. While we DO support a jail oversight process, we in no way believe that FMJS is meeting the requirements of a true oversight process. At least in Gulf County, they have openly expressed their desire NOT to participate in FMJS - because some counties do opt to participate, but don't fully comply with many of the standards.
Why should these counties comply - unlike the FAC33-8 standards, there are no enforceable mandates within the FMJS standards. We invite you to review the above videos from the March 14, 2014 FMJS Committee meeting - this lack of enforceable authority is highly discussed within these videos.
VolusiaExposed has posted several previous articles regarding our questions and concerns surrounding the FMJS inspection process. We invite you to review our previous articles, which were incorporated in an article that focused on the FMJS 2013 Brevard County jail inspection.
The Politics Of The FMJS
Are Small County Jails The Political Whipping Boys Of The FMJS?
Repealed on that same date (October 1, 1996), were the jail standards under Florida Administrative Code 33-8 (FAC33-8).
So what are the differences in the FMJS (new) process compared to the FAC33-8 (old) process?
Well, according to Mr. Isaiah Dennard, a representative of the Florida Sheriffs Association (see above video), FMJS initially incorporated the entire standards of the FAC 33-8 process. Mr. Dennard's statement is only partially accurate. While it is true that the FMJS initially incorporated many of the FAC 33-8 standards and responsibilities - there were some standards that were immediately dropped under FMJS.
Under the FAC33-8 process - all in custody jail deaths were independently investigated by the prison inspector (Office of Inspector General - Fl-DOC). No such requirement is authorized under the FMJS inspection process.
IN FACT, unlike FAC 33-8, none of the standards within FMJS are mandated. Participation in the FMJS inspection process is totally voluntary, some jails, like the Gulf County jail refuse to even participate. We invite you to review the below attached videos from two August 2013 meetings of the Gulf County County Commission, whereas the majority of the commission supported the jail director's recommendation not to participate in FMJS.
Under the FAC33-8 inspection process - participation was mandated by Florida law - failure to comply, could result in both civil and criminal sanctions. The prison inspector could literally close the doors of any jail.
We (VolusiaExposed) sadly agree with many of the comments of Mr. Hammond, the Gulf County jail director. While we DO support a jail oversight process, we in no way believe that FMJS is meeting the requirements of a true oversight process. At least in Gulf County, they have openly expressed their desire NOT to participate in FMJS - because some counties do opt to participate, but don't fully comply with many of the standards.
Why should these counties comply - unlike the FAC33-8 standards, there are no enforceable mandates within the FMJS standards. We invite you to review the above videos from the March 14, 2014 FMJS Committee meeting - this lack of enforceable authority is highly discussed within these videos.
VolusiaExposed has posted several previous articles regarding our questions and concerns surrounding the FMJS inspection process. We invite you to review our previous articles, which were incorporated in an article that focused on the FMJS 2013 Brevard County jail inspection.
Are Small County Jails The Political Whipping Boys Of The FMJS?
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In videos from two August 2013 Gulf County Commissioner meetings (see below), Jail Director Mike Hammond expresses his concerns that small county jails like Gulf County can not meet the requirements of FMJS.
In this, we (VolusiaExposed) disagree with Mr. Hammond. The FMJS standards are actually a low bar, in comparison to the old and repealed FAC33-8 standards. We also would imagine that prior to the repeal of the FAC33-8 standards, Gulf county jail complied with those mandated standards. We (VolusiaExposed) suspect that what really concerns these small county jails, like Gulf county, is the under-current of politics within the FMJS / FSA. If you take the time to review Mr. Dennard's comments to the FMJS - you might even detect this under-current of politics regarding jails not operated by sheriff departments. Gulf County jail is operated by the County Commission, rather than the sheriff department. |
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Florida Model Jail Standards is a subsection of the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA). While we understand that some individuals within the FSA would like to sell, to the public, that the FMJS is a separate entity from the FSA, such is simply not a totally accurate account. Our readers can review the FMJS website, it is hosted within the Florida Sheriffs Association's website. Also according to FMJS by-laws - three of the five FMJS commissioners are appointed by the FSA. Therefore, we shall leave it up to our readers, to determine for themselves, on how "separate" the FSA and FMJS really are.
In a recent email, Mr. Dennard attempted to sell us his "Fred Astaire Tap Dance" explanation that FSA and FMJS are separate entities. Attempting to say that the FSA and FMJS are separate entities is similar to insisting that the Gestapo and the SS were separate entities. In the end, both (the Gestapo and SS) shared similar goals, and reported to the same Fuehrer.
It is of interest that at the same time Mr. Dennard has invited us (VX) to address our concerns and comments to him - he has blocked our email address.
In a recent email, Mr. Dennard attempted to sell us his "Fred Astaire Tap Dance" explanation that FSA and FMJS are separate entities. Attempting to say that the FSA and FMJS are separate entities is similar to insisting that the Gestapo and the SS were separate entities. In the end, both (the Gestapo and SS) shared similar goals, and reported to the same Fuehrer.
It is of interest that at the same time Mr. Dennard has invited us (VX) to address our concerns and comments to him - he has blocked our email address.
Are FMJS Medical Inspectors Qualified?
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During the March 14, 2014 FMJS Committee meeting, Donna Wainright, R.N. addressed the FMJS Committee regarding the qualifications of FMJS medical inspectors.
VolusiaExposed has some concerns regarding Wainright's final comments. We invite you to listen to these comments for yourself. Do these comments indicate that the FMJS has in the past used unqualified medical inspectors? And if the FMJS have been sending unqualified medical inspectors to Florida county jails - then how much faith can we have in those past jail inspections - or worst yet - does this open a possible concern on the qualifications of the medical staff assigned at the jails? We have heard rumours of unqualified persons passing medications within county jails - but have not yet been able to confirm that this is transpiring. |
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Indicative Of The Failures Within The FMJS Inspection Process?
History clearly indicates that the Gulf County jail has had more than it's share of problems.
A rather quick "Google Search" reveals the following scandals: In 1995 - then Gulf County Sheriff Al Harrison was sentenced to prison for forcing female jail inmates to perform oral sex In 2007 - shortly prior to then Gulf County Sheriff Dalton Upchurch being indicted for falsifying records, the Gulf County Board of Commissioners assumed the responsibility for the operation of the jail. During an August 27, 2013 meeting of the Gulf County Commission, Jail Director Mike Hammond also identified other more recent violations at the jails, both violations of Florida Statutes. These violations included the misappropriation of jail funds and having on staff, individuals that were not certified correctional officers. (see video to right of page) Under the old, and now repealed FAC33-8 inspection process - the questions of whether medical or security staff had the correct licenses / certifications would have been quickly identified and corrected. At The Gulf County Jail? During the FMJS committee meeting, Sgt. Dukes of the Jacksonville Sheriff Department advised the committee that there was a county that had some serious fire code violations. We (VX) invite our readers to listen to Sgt. Dukes' exact statement to the FMJS committee. (see video to right of web page) Upon questioning - VolusiaExposed was advised that Sgt. Dukes' comments were in reference to a 2011 FMJS inspection of the Gulf County jail conducted by Mr. Dennard. According to page 3 of inspection report - Mr. Dennard did note several serious fire code violations, to include "no annual fire inspections noted for several years". |
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In fairness to Gulf County, VolusiaExposed made a public record request for their jail's last two years of fire inspections.
The first indicator that VolusiaExposed was going to experience problems in obtaining these fire inspection reports came when we were advised that it would be necessary for us to file an official Gulf County Public Record Request Form. This form is required per Gulf County's Public Record Request Policies (see page 1) It is our (VX) opinion that requiring the filing of this form is a violation of Florida Public Record law. The second indicator of problems came when Gulf County notified us (email) that they needed to charge us an "extensive information technology / clerical or supervisory assistance" fee, in order to locate, redact and copy their last two fire inspections of the jail. Such a fee is allowed under Florida Statutes, when the nature of the public record request, would cause the use of a large amount of information technology or staff time in locating and copying the requested records. |
Scroll Down To Review Click Here To Download Report                                   |
It's difficult to understand why fire inspections, like fire extinguishers, are not readily available for inspection.
Therefore, it appears reasonable to conclude that the fire code violations noted on page 3 (see above - scroll down to page 3) of Mr. Dennard's December 2011 FMJS inspection report have some validity. These violations included, but were not limited to:
Could our (VolusiaExposed) request to see the last two fire inspections of the Gulf County jail, actually have been a request to see antiquated documents - thus the rationale of Gulf County officials requesting the "extensive information technology / clerical or supervisory assistance" fee?
Either way - we will leave it to our readers to decide, whether there is a problem at the Gulf County jail, regarding fire inspections? In December 2011 - the jail could not produce any recent fire inspections (several years) during the FMJS inspection - and in 2014 - the jail could not produce their last two jail fire inspections to VolusiaExposed, without requesting a special research fee.
Therefore, it appears reasonable to conclude that the fire code violations noted on page 3 (see above - scroll down to page 3) of Mr. Dennard's December 2011 FMJS inspection report have some validity. These violations included, but were not limited to:
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2. No Quarterly Fire Drills. 3. Fire Control Panel Last Inspected In 2006. 4. Problems With Fire Extinguishers. |
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Either way - we will leave it to our readers to decide, whether there is a problem at the Gulf County jail, regarding fire inspections? In December 2011 - the jail could not produce any recent fire inspections (several years) during the FMJS inspection - and in 2014 - the jail could not produce their last two jail fire inspections to VolusiaExposed, without requesting a special research fee.
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Ironically - While The Florida Sheriffs Association Is Heavily Involved In FMJS - More And More Florida Sheriffs Are Abandoning Jail Operations. In our (VolusiaExposed) opinion - NO - the Gulf County jail can not resolve it's problems by participating in the FMJS inspection process. WHY? Because, in our opinion the FMJS inspection process IS the catalyst for these problems. Since the introduction of FMJS, and the repeal of FAC33-8 in October 1996 - Florida county jails have seen a steep and steady decline in their safety and security levels. Just recently, and like Gulf County was forced to do in 2007, Escambia County took control of their jail from the county sheriff, after an intense U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Escambia County jail identified several civil rights violations. The Hernando County Commissioner recently (2010) had to re-evaluate their contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to operate their county jail after several serious violations were discovered. The condition of the jail was so poor that even the Hernando County sheriff did not want to takeover operations of it from CCA. (Hernando County Sheriff Currently Operates The Jail) The Hernando County jail does participate in the FMJS inspection process and HAD recently passed an FMJS inspection just prior to the discovery of these serious violations. So, you tell us - how thorough was that FMJS inspection? Will a similar FMJS inspection of the Gulf County jail be a game changer? In our (VolusiaExposed.Com) opinion, it's time to reinstate Florida Administrative Code 33-8, and say ADIOS to Florida Model Jail Standards. The lives of Florida's jail inmates and correctional officers depend on it.  Samuel L. Jackson - BASIC - 2003 |
  
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