Topic: Letter of The Law / jail use of force - pre trial vs sentenced

I think creating two different policies is opening a can of worms. Unless you have two different missions assigned to your facility and can completely isolate the different populations, you must consider the 5th and 14th Amendment requirements for equal treatment under the law. Once you can satisfy the equal treatment requuirement, then you need to satisfy the two most challenging requirements, that any use of force be BOTH necessary and reasonable. It matters not whether you are holding a juvenile, a female, a detainee, or a known serial killer. The jail is not the place to determine guilt or to punish. Its sole mission is to hold the person for the court to process or for the court mandated period of separation from society consistent with state law. The jail staff are authorize to use force only to accomplish the legetimate mission of the jail or the agency running it. Virtually all agencies have some sort of UOF policy based on levels of resistance vs. levels of force. They all attempt to guide the jail staff in selecting only the level of force necessary and reasonable in a given situation, and only until the subject is brought under enough control to accomplish the legitimate agency mission.

One policy is challenging enough to get right. Two different policies would be a nightmare for your agency and gift to a plaintiff’s attorney.