Santa Fe To Create Jail Advisory Committee

The Santa Fe County Commission approved a resolution this week creating an advisory committee for the county jail.

The committee’s duties, according to the resolution, will include reviewing and making recommendations on policies and procedures related to inmate reintegration and interaction with inmates’ families.

County officials previously created a jail advisory committee in 2007, two years after the county took over jail operations from a private operator following several years of problems that included escapes, sexual harassment complaints and complaints about medical services.

The committee was disbanded in 2009 because county officials felt the jail had made significant progress in correcting its problems, according to the resolution.

But it should probably also be noted that some committee members had complained about being stonewalled by corrections staff when trying to get information.

Also, the county is wrestling with a corrections officer vacancy rate of nearly 42 percent, according to the jail’s September report.

Public Safety Department Director Pablo Sedillo said county officials in March authorized the hiring of 29 new officers. Sedillo said he’s been slowly filling those positions in batches.

Sedillo said he wants to at least get the vacancy rate down to 21-25 percent, which he says is the national average.

“But it has been a difficult task in regards to the screening process and having people eligible,” he said.

The jail currently has 66 entry-level officers on staff. Another 13 officers were recently hired, which will drop the vacancy rate to around 30 percent.

Sedillo said staff attrition rates are “pretty normal” and the large number of vacancies isn’t due to terminations or officers quitting.

Read more details in tomorrow’s paper.