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| Report: Overcrowding Led to York County Jail Riot |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/12/2002 |
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Overcrowding and a lack of staffing contributed to a riot last February at York County (Maine) Jail, state corrections officials say. A Department of Corrections' inspection report released August 1 listed 58 pages of code violations at the facility. Commissioner Martin Magnusson rated the jail's compliance at 79 percent, up slightly from a 1998 inspection. He blamed the jail's continued overcrowding for the code violations. The report follows a department evaluation conducted last year in conjunction with the state's investigation of the inmate riot. Inmates clogged toilets, broke windows and torched mattresses during the disturbance. A county investigation blamed overcrowding, incorrect inmate classification, lack of recreation, inadequate supervision and insufficient staffing and security. The state report found safety deficiencies at the facility, as well. Tampering with some cell-locking mechanisms allowed inmates to remove a lock cylinder and use it as a weapon. Corrections officials also found that York County Jail officials could not produce documentation of weekly lock inspections, and the dead bolt function of one cellblock door was not working. The supervisor on duty during the riot showed a ''lack of direct involvement'' with inmates showing signs of unrest, according to the report. The unnamed supervisor resigned following the riot. The jail was also housing maximum security inmates who had been reclassified as medium security despite clear risk factors, investigators found. And staff involved in the riot did not file reports until up to four days later, the report said. Michael Vitiello, the York County Jail's administrator, said recently that a new $20 million, 250-bed facility opening next April will alleviate the problems. The violations have either been corrected or will be when inmates move into a less cramped environment, he said. The current jail was built in 1979 and designed to house 58 inmates. The facility was later expanded to a capacity of about 90 inmates, though it currently houses more than 100, officials said. |
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