Inmate Classification Policies and Procedures recommendations

The Inmate Classification Policies and Procedure category includes 34 recommendations. All 34 recommendations (100 percent) have been audited and completed.

	Not covered by Consent Decree/subject to audit by OCLEM.
	Covered by Consent Decree and subject to monitoring by federal court appointed experts.
	Completed, audited, and presented to the Board.

Recommendation	Master List Number	Status (Updates are in progress)
Create a new Classification System that provides equal access to Mentally Ill offenders.	130
Development of an evidence-based, best practices approach for classification that eliminates subjectivity and the misuse of classification decisions as punishment or retaliation.	131
Replace current classification system with a statistically valid, reliable, evidenced based instrument.	132
Allow detainees access to their files to determine accuracy of contents and challenge any discrepancies.	134
Completely and thoroughly examine the Classification System for inmates and make immediate improvements to ensure appropriate access to services and housing. Create a process for appealing housing classifications.	135
Implement a classification system validated by gender.	181
Continue to reduce the amount of restrictive housing and increase the amount of structured and unstructured time out of cells.	183
Continue revising the classification system and deploy it with adequate resources as soon as possible.	184
Implement a classification system that conforms to best practices for housing different categories of inmates, including male and female, juvenile and adult, pretrial and convicted, mentally ill, physically ill, disabled, etc.	310
Ensure that a new inmate classification system is based on best practices that clearly conform to inmates’ charges, behavior, and mental and physical abilities.	311
Implement an improved objective Jail Classification System.	347
Classification will adopt a nationally recognized and validated assessment tool from the U. S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections (NIC). This plan will be presented to the Board of Supervisors by May 2016.	348
Prior to housing, all inmates will be classified using the initial classification form within six to eight hours of arrival at the facility and prior to housing. The initial form is intended to identify an inmate who presents a serious risk to the safety, security, and orderly operation of the facility.	349
Inmates needing mobility accommodations, (i.e., walkers, canes, braces, prosthetics, wheel chairs, etc.) will be assigned to various housing areas based on their Classification, thus allowing full accesses to educational/re‐entry programs, services and activities.	351
Provide inmates with an acknowledgment form of their initial Classification custody level.	352
Classification will be implementing a new form for all inmates at their initial classification. This acknowledgement form will include the inmates first and last name, booking number, PFN (personal file number), security level and a narrative explaining how to appeal their classification level if they wish to do so. Classification will utilize this notification to provide the inmate a clear comprehension of his/her security level and provide an opportunity for questions/ interpretations.	353
Institute an appeal process for inmates who are initially classified at a high security level.	354
Following placement into temporary Administrative Segregation, a supervisor (sergeant) from Classification will provide the inmate with a notification form of temporary segregation and an appeal of segregation form within 48 hours of placement. If the inmate wishes to appeal his/her placement they must complete the form and return it to classification within 7 days.	355
After receipt of the form a classification supervisor (sergeant) will hold a hearing within 72 hours with the inmate. The inmate will be made aware of the decision within 48 hours. Appropriate action (placement) will be taken immediately after the appeal has been heard/authorized by a Classification Lieutenant and/or Captain. If an inmate’s appeal is denied, and Administrative Segregation placement has proceeded, Classification shall review the inmates file every 60 days thereafter.	356
Expand structured and unstructured out time for all inmates within their security level.	357
Move low security level, pre‐trial inmates to the Elmwood Facility and create a minimum  camp for protective custody inmates.	358
Evaluate where protective custody inmates can be assigned to a secure area on the minimum camp.  If feasibility is determined, the planning and construction will be in collaboration with the County’s Facilities and Fleet Department.	359
The Office of the Sheriff should use a document control method to ensure any interim changes to existing policies and procedures are explicitly tied to the polices and procedures they affect.	530
The Office of the Sheriff should develop a policy to include gender- specific information in data collection in their classification system and include the Commission on the Status of Women in that decision-making process.	544
The County should conduct a structured reclassification assessment for all inmates every 60 days.  That re-classification assessment should place greater emphasis on the inmate’s conduct as opposed to the inmate’s criminal record and current charge(s).	637
The current security rating assessment methods should be replaced by the pilot tested initial and reclassification instruments which will increase the number of Minimum custody inmates and reduce the number of Medium custody inmates. These changes would take into account the over-rides recommended by the classification staff.	638
An essential part of the NIC system is the reclassification process which requires a formal re-assessment of all inmates every 60 days. Such a re- assessment also entails a formal confidential interview with the inmate and a full explanation of the basis for his or her classification rating.	639
In order to implement the new system, sufficient staff will be required to properly conduct the reclassification interviews.  While it is the strong recommendation that all inmates be interviewed, it would be acceptable to only interview inmates who are current assigned to Maximum and Medium custody.	640
It is also recommended that the process of reclassifying Level 3/4 inmates every 30 days be discontinued unless there are special circumstances warranting such an early review.	641
The new classification scoring system will need to be fully automated. The Custody Bureau has already begun the process of modifying the current data base to meet this need.	642
Given the importance of the classification process, it is also recommended that a Captain position be created whose sole duty is to manage the classification system. Currently, the Captain now assigned to classification has too many other important duties that do not allow her to focus on managing the classification system.	643
The use of “known management problem” and “gang member” over- rides will need to be re-evaluated for inmates who are not demonstrating any negative behavior or conduct. There must be some evidences that such inmates pose a threat to other inmates and staff.	644
The scale for the reclassification instrument should be modified so that inmates scoring 4 points or less are designated for Minimum custody.	645
It is recommended that there is no need to create a separate instrument for the female inmates. The proposed system uses objective factors that apply equally to male and female inmates.	646