Problems Discovered by Dept. Of Corrections at Clearwater County, MN Jail

BAGLEY, MN (trfnews.i234.me) A new Minnesota Department of Corrections Inspection Report outlines problems at the Clearwater County Jail in Bagley.
a new 21-page report by the minnesota department of corrections outlines a fairly long list of problems at the clearwater county jail in bagley the inspection was done during the last week of august here are some of the highlights from the report quote staffing similar to many other jails in minnesota the facility struggles with staffing levels this requires the jail administrator to cover shifts when they cannot be filled by other staff members operating at a low staffing levels can lead to staff burnout more turnover and can negatively impact jail operations it is recommended that the facility evaluate their staffing needs and devise a plan to reach adequate staffing levels to meet those needs clearwater county has an approved capacity of 38 inmates but would not have enough staff to hold over 25 inmates physical plant the facility was built in 1998 the clearwater county jail is in a much more state of decline when compared to jails that are 20 to 25 years older this appears to be in large part due to a lack of maintenance replacement and needed upgrades water shutoff valves were leaking throughout the facility or had uh stopped leaking due to uh calcification built up that was not cleaned or removed the floor tile looked to be separating throughout the facility and had gaps that held debris the tile was dirty and flat looking and had no sheen indicating that presumably it had been mopped or cleaned recently inmates were housed in pods that contained cracked glass that was rough or jagged to the touch an inmate was housed in a cell that had a large opening to a plumbing chase and was not secure plumbing fixtures were removed from cells but it did not appear that piping was capped this may allow sewer gas in the facility trim molding around the edge of the floors was loose and falling off throughout the building laminated edging in the kitchen control room and medical room had been peeled off and exposed raw wood which is no longer an easily cleanable surface the medical exam the medical room which is uh oftentimes at jails the most sterile environment had what appeared to be mold and mildew on the exam table the inspector used a bottle of cleaning solution and paper towel to remove what appeared to be mold and mildew growing on the leather exam table the extensive maintenance required within the facility could not be entirely encompassed in this report supervisory staff must provide a complete and detailed documentation documentation of deficiencies that need to be corrected staff will then need to prioritize repairs and maintenance needed and provide a detailed plan to the department of corrections as to when the complete list of identified deficiencies will be corrected the facility must have a written plan for providing services for inmate chemical dependency issues the facility must have a plan for providing opportunities for physical exercise and recreational activities for all inmates the new administrator is doing a better job of identifying and notifying the department of corrections of special incidents however they need to ensure that the reports encompass all the required informations the names of persons involved staff and inmates nature of the unusual occurrence actions taken and the date and time of the occurrence and that the department of corrections is notified within 10 days it is recommended that the phil facility update the policy to include all the required reportable criteria within policy additionally it should be noted that suicide homicide and death from natural causes are now required to be reported to the doc within 24 hours and not 10 days unquote the report says the response to some of these issues is needed by the end of september and other issues by the middle of january i’m Neil Berg reporting for trfnews.i234.me