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Saturday, November 14, 2009
Jail Operations Review at Standstill
By Dan McKay
Journal Staff Writer
Bernalillo County commissioners asked for an independent review of jail operations more than four months ago.
But no one's been hired yet to start the inquiry.
Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, who joined Commissioner Art De La Cruz in pushing for the review, learned of the lack of progress this week during a commission meeting.
"I'm disappointed that our (county administration) didn't move forward on making this happen," Stebbins told the Journal. "We clearly requested it at an open meeting, and it was never followed up on."
She and De La Cruz requested the review on June 23 after the severe beating of inmate Avery Hadley and reports of a jail officer's sexual relationship with an inmate. Since then, commissioners have learned of an allegation that the Metropolitan Detention Center failed to report a separate beating in which an inmate ended up needing reconstructive surgery.
"This third incident makes it clear that the commission needs good information about MDC and how well they're doing their job," Stebbins said in an interview.
Bernalillo County has already launched an investigation into the Hadley incident, according to a statement released by county spokeswoman Liz Hamm. The investigator was hired through the New Mexico Association of Counties.
As for the larger review, the county has gathered the resumes of people qualified to conduct the inquiry, Hamm said. The commission will discuss the resumes in a closed-litigation meeting Dec. 8 and hire someone shortly thereafter, she said.
County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo said the selection of a consultant was slowed by the commissioners' desire to find several qualified candidates to consider, not just one.
"I've talked to staff about moving this quicker," he said.
The review, Armijo said, might lead to suggestions on how to protect inmates better, but doing so could be difficult.
The jail "is as big as a small town," Armijo said. " ...Unfortunately, things do happen."
Another complicating factor for carrying out the jail review, officials said, is that the lockup is the subject of a long-running federal lawsuit over conditions inside, as well as other threatened or pending litigation.
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