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Jail promises must be kept

We certainly can appreciate administrator Gary Kuhl's frustration as he tries to navigate the murky waters that surround the Hernando County Commission's decisions regarding Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that operates the jail.

"I'd just like to get it taken care of one way or another," Kuhl told the Times earlier this week, referring to whether Sheriff's Office deputies should take over the job of fingerprinting and photographing prisoners at the jail.

Maybe we can help crystallize the issue, which really shouldn't be an issue at all.

It's only been five months since the commission, its staff and CCA representatives agreed that the sheriff would assume responsibility for that step in processing prisoners into the jail, and that CCA would pay the estimated $305,000 cost of six deputies' salaries and benefits. That agreement was reached after Sheriff Richard Nugent blew the whistle in December on CCA's deplorable inability to routinely send new prisoners' fingerprints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The Hernando County jail's backlog was the worst in the state, and when it was later brought up to date it revealed the jail was unknowingly housing dangerous inmates who were charged with crimes committed elsewhere, which ranged from sexual battery and child pornography to attempted first-degree murder.

Bigwigs from CCA appeared before the commission in February to address the fingerprinting failure, as well as other troubling incidents at the jail, including inmates' suicides, lapses in security and equipment, and why so many corrections officers were not certified by the state.

Their mission was to reassure the commission they were willing to take all necessary steps to correct the problems, and they accomplished that mission by readily agreeing, among other things, to pay for the added expense of the sheriff's deputies.

Since then the backlog has been erased and the jail has a new warden, who has earned the praise of commissioners and the government staff members for both his candor and can-do attitude.

But neither improvement justifies releasing CCA from the promises it made in February, and any commissioners who are backpedaling on the commitment they made just five months ago (so far Chris Kingsley and Diane Rowden) should be embarrassed by their lack of resolve.

It is far too soon for the commission to sound the all-clear on CCA. It has been only a few months since the jail was reeling in self-induced turmoil. Other incidents have included an escape and charges against guards for stealing from inmates and aiding a would-be escapee.

Also since then, CCA has floated the idea of paying for an expansion of the jail to accommodate more prisoners, many of them federal inmates. As we editorialized then, the county should not even consider extending its involvement with CCA so soon. The company simply has not had enough time to regain the public's trust.

Honoring a vow, in this instance to pay for deputies to fingerprint prisoners, is one good way to recover that lost trust.

Having more trained law enforcement officers at the jail also would be an obvious plus, augmenting the administrative and operational oversight the commission already has in place.

Sheriff Richard Nugent was right to insist that the commission affirm or reverse its decision to require CCA to pay for the extra deputies. That way, residents will know which commissioners understand the importance of providing greater oversight and upholding a pledge, and which ones allow their short memories and lack of healthy skepticism to shape their decisionmaking.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 22:35:35]