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| County hires expert to review jail practices |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/15/2006 |
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HURRICANE, Utah - Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith has hired a former state prison director to evaluate practices at the county jail after a sexual misconduct scandal that allegedly involved several corrections officers. Gary DeLand, executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections from 1985 to 1992, will audit operating and hiring practices for the county's Purgatory Correctional Facility, Smith said. "I want to know if this does happen, did we allow it to happen?" he said. The review comes on the heels of a March investigation into allegations that Washington County jailers had sex with inmates and former inmates last year. Two officers have been charged in the investigation and resigned. Three others have also resigned, but have not been charged. Smith said he expects a sixth officer will be terminated because it appears he knew about the alleged improprieties, but failed to report it. DeLand now works as a private consultant to jails and prisons, and was hired by the U.S. government to assist in rebuilding the prison system in Iraq, including Abu Ghraib. He said his review of Purgatory won't include an investigation of the current allegations, but will focus on management practices. However, policy changes can't eliminate all misconduct, DeLand said. "We hire people, not robots, and unfortunately people sometimes think with the wrong part of the anatomy," he said. DeLand's tenure with the state is marked by a civil rights challenge that accused Utah's prisons of violating prisoner rights by limiting access to medical and mental health, as well as inadequate inmate housing space. Smith said he'll delay proposing policy changes at Purgatory until after DeLand's audit is complete. |
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