Jail Report Calls for Higher Pay, More Training & New Jail? November 2, 2015

A new report says Jackson County Jail Corrections officers suffer from high turnover, and low starting wages.

The report, issued Monday also calls for the County to look into the possibility of replacing the 31-year old high-rise jail in downtown Kansas City.

The report says the starting wage for some officers of $11.45 an hour is not enough to lure people into a stressful job with long hours.

Commission Co-Chairman Al brooks says the County’s pay scale is not competitive.

“And the County couldn’t keep up with what the other industries were doing. In fact the County was the lowest in the region,” he said.

The report also suggests the County Department of Corrections improve its training and seek accreditation.
Brooks said that could also improve practices and standards at the jail.

The report was commissioned after incidents earlier this year of guards being accused of excessive force.

One of the key finding calls upon Jackson County to consider the feasibility of a new jail.

Brooks says the current facility, first built in the mid-1980’s and often at, or near its 720-inmate capacity; is outdated.

“You don’t build jails anymore 6-8-10 stories anymore. So it’s campus style. So it’s both for the employees and the detainee,” Brooks said.

Jackson County officials will starting building their 2016 budget next week. It’s expected they’ll plan to raise the wages for jail guards.

Pregnant Jackson County Inmate Files Lawsuit October 16, 2015

(AP) – A Wichita mathematician seeking to audit voting machine tapes after finding statistical anomalies in election counts is getting legal and other support in pursuing her lawsuit.
Wichita State University statistician Beth Clarkson had been pursuing the case herself, but now has a Wichita lawyer representing her. Other people have set up a non-profit foundation for donations.
A Sedgwick County judge is expected to set filing deadlines and a trial date at a Monday hearing.
Clarkson has analyzed election returns in Kansas and elsewhere over several elections that indicate “a statistically significant” pattern where the percentage of Republican votes increase the larger the size of the precinct. The pattern could indicate election fraud.
Her attorney, Randy Rathbun, says Clarkson convinced him that she is right, and somebody needed to help her.

Turnover Could Take 1/3rd of Jackson County Jail Staff September 24, 2015

The Jackson County jail is on a pace to lose a third of its staff this year, according to the director of Human Resources, Dennis Dumovich.
Dumovich says 119 jail staffers have already left the staff. The jail usually employees around 450 people, according to Dumovich.
He says low pay, long hours, mandatory overtime and tough working conditions make it hard to keep workers. Dumovich says this year, many new employees are quitting within the first 3 months on the job.
“We have to do in our training is give them a little more realistic job preview.
That’s something we’re working on, Dumovich said.
Dumovich says in October, the jail will launch a pilot project to improve the problems with long hours.
A small number of jail staffers will move to 12-hour workdays, four days a week.
Dumovich says they hope the longer weekend will help jail staffers recover frokm the stress of their jobs.
The Jackson County Jail task Force was launched after several inmates were beaten by guards earlier this year.
The FBI has been called into to look into complaints.
Earlier this year, one Jackson County Correction Officer was indicted by federal prosecutors for beating an inmate.