The Hamilton County Concurrent Grand Jury has recommended that the County Commission act to enlarge and update the County Jail.

The panel recommended in a final report to Criminal Court Judge Doug Meyer:

"Long range plans be made to expand the current Jail or a similar facility as the population of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Area increases, and plans be made to immediately replace the outdated technology, and install modern lighting in the facility."

The Concurrent Grand Jury also recommended that magistrates be on duty 24 hours a day - not just nights and weekends - to help in setting bonds.

The panel said additional correctional officers are needed at the jail and a local drug testing lab needs to be reinstated.

The report also says, "The Grand Jury strongly recommends that a juvenile treatment and rehabilitation center be established in Hamilton County. Hamilton County is the only metropolitan county in Tennessee without this type of facility."

Here is the full report of the Concurrent Grand Jury:

The Honorable Doug Meyer
Judge, Criminal Court, Division 1
Hamilton County, Tennessee

Judge Meyer:

The Concurrent Grand Jury for the May – August, 2006 term presents the following report.

The members of the Jury appreciated the opportunity to observe first-hand and be a part of the initial stages of the criminal justice system of Hamilton County. Also, the visits to the CCA facility (Silverdale), County Jail and Juvenile Justice Center were very informative. These visitations, combined with the testimony of the witnesses who appeared before the Jury, gave us insights that few citizens of this County, who are not associated with the criminal justice system, ever get to experience.

The testimony of the law enforcement officers made all of us realize the importance and danger of their work. We commend all of those individuals who are members of this profession.

The legal information provided by the Assistant District Attorney, Bill West, was very helpful and appreciated, whether about a matter to be considered by the Jury or a general question about criminal law. We also very much appreciated Renee Walker for serving as the note taker for this term

The report reflects the opinions of the members of the Concurrent Grand Jury. We are charged with reporting on the Hamilton County Jail and the Juvenile Court and Detention Center. Additionally, we have chosen to make some other general recommendations which we feel will be beneficial to the County and the Justice System. Although we are not charged with reporting on Silverdale, we appreciated the informative tour provided by Director of Corrections Tommy Standifer and Warden Hobbs.

The Concurrent Grand Jury issues the following recommendations and commendations.

Hamilton County Jail

Chief Hart and Captain Swope provided the Jury with a most informative visit to all areas of the Jail. Lieutenant Coppinger’s presentation on jail security was enjoyed by the Jury. (The ingenuity of the prisoners in making contraband items from material found in the Jail was amazing.)

We commend the staff for the clean condition of the building. The lunch which was served to us was the same as that provided to the prisoners, except for the dessert. The meal was very tasty and nutritional. (Those of us with a “sweet tooth” really enjoyed the apple cobbler.) Mr. Hughes, the kitchen supervisor, is to be commended for providing meals of 2000 calories daily at an average cost of 82 cents per prisoner per day. Also, his use of prisoners for all aspects of the food preparation, serving and clean-up is to be commended. Hopefully, the prisoners will acquire some skills which they can use to be productive when they return to society.

The Grand Jury recommends that:

1. Magistrates be available at the Jail to set bond 24 hours per day and not just at night. This will eliminate some of the congestion in the booking area which has to be supervised by the jail personnel,

2. Long range plans be made to expand the current Jail or a similar facility as the population of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Area increases,

3. Plans be made to immediately replace the outdated technology, and install modern lighting in the facility,

4. The Hamilton County Commission should approve a bond issue to implement recommendations 2 and 3 as soon as possible,

5. Even though the jail is not a long-term facility, some type of work is needed for the inmates.

The Jury strongly recommends that the number of officers at the Jail be increased. There should be at least two guards for each separate section of the Jail to watch the prisoners. In addition, each shift needs at least one or two additional officers to always be available to replace officers who can not be on duty for that shift due to illness, court appearances, watching a suicidal prisoner or any other responsibility which would lower the manpower to less than two for each section of the Jail. Even though this recommendation will require a revenue increase for the jail operations, it may be less expensive than the expense of loss of certification or litigation based on lack of safety at the facility.

Hamilton County Juvenile Justice Center

Mr. Chris Albright, Court Administrator, was very helpful in assisting the Jury to understand the role of the Juvenile Court and Detention Center in the criminal justice system.

The Grand Jury strongly recommends that a juvenile treatment and rehabilitation center be established in Hamilton County. Hamilton County is the only metropolitan county in Tennessee without this type of facility. This typically results in our more difficult children being sent away from their communities for correction and rehabilitation. This imposes a hardship on the families, and the treatment of the child is less than optimum. It is extremely important to reach these youngsters upon first contact with the system and divert their criminal tendencies toward a more productive life. The end result is that Hamilton County children do not get the family treatment that is so crucial because most of the clientele is unable to afford the cost associated with travel for counseling. If a full-time, live in facility is not feasible, we strongly recommend a very ambitious outpatient type facility be established with a full staff to work with the children and parents.

We commend the staff for the educational programs made available for the juveniles at the facility.

General Recommendations

The Grand Jury strongly recommends that the County Mayor, County Commission, Local Legislative Delegation, Hamilton County Sheriff Long and Chattanooga City Police Chief Parks work with all deliberate speed to reinstate the drug testing laboratory in Chattanooga. The closing of this laboratory has resulted in cases being held for three to six months for the results to be returned from the other laboratories in Knoxville or Nashville. This is unacceptable!

We also recommend that:

1. Since hearsay testimony is acceptable for Grand Jury witnesses, permit supervisory personnel from the areas of the City/County where the alleged crimes were committed to testify using the officers’ affidavits. This would permit more cases to be heard utilizing less manpower. Also, this would permit one individual to testify about defendants with multiple cases pending, as opposed to several officers testifying to each pending case.

2. Establish a separate judicial process to hear cases involving only DUI – a DUI Court. The Criminal Justice system is “bogged down” with these types of cases.

3. Any internal/departmental issue related to the officer who is to testify in front of the Grand Jury needs to be resolved prior to the actual appearance in front of the Jury. For example, if more than one officer is involved in the same case, one officer should be able to testify about the entire case.

4. Thirteen (13) parking spaces be reserved each Monday and Tuesday for members of the Grand Jury.

Sincerely,

Members of the Concurrent Grand Jury