Members of the Concurrent Grand Jury said their tour of the Hamilton County Jail was "an eye opening" experience.
The report from the panel headed by Jimmy Anderson says, "There are things that we saw on the tour that will stay with us as we leave the service of the Grand Jury. What immediately became apparent to us was the overcrowding of the jail. The inmates need to be kept occupied – it seems they have way too much time on their hands which leads to trouble within the jail. We would like to see a heat and air unit added to the gym. We were advised that it was also only used two months out of the year.
"Even though the jail is understaffed, they appear to be competent, dedicated and humane. They seemed to balance the need for discipline with human dignity."
The panel recommended that Drug Court and the Mental Health Court both be expanded.
JUDGE, CRIMINAL COURT
Concurrent Grand Jury Report: May 2018 – August 2018
Our jury was sworn in and served under the guidance of Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman. The individuals in this Concurrent Grand Jury came from a variety of backgrounds and we each brought a different perspective to the role that we have been required to fulfill during our time of service. Service on the Grand Jury has been an informative and enlightening experience for us and we believe our service to the community to be an honor.
We feel that everyone should serve on a Grand Jury at least once in his or her life. Too many of us are blissfully ignorant of our justice system, how it works, and all of its components.
The following is a list of general recommendations we think would help to increase efficiency in the Grand Jury system:
· We would like to request that wheels be added to the chairs in the grand jury room. This would improve/provide more efficiency for each juror being able to move around in a more quiet and professional manner.
· We would also like to believe that implementing a scheduling system for the law enforcement officers to come in and present their cases would make the Grand Jury operate more efficiently. It’s very frustrating for jurors to appear, wait around only to hear a few cases on the docket, while the stack of cases to be presented continues to grow. It would allow officers to preselect a time that was convenient with their schedule to come in and present their cases. We understand and appreciate the number of hours our law enforcement officers spend working to make our county a safer environment and we feel that this would benefit both the efficiency of the system as well as make it easier on the individual law enforcement officers.
· The noise outside of the Grand Jury room would sometimes get too loud and we as jurors would have a difficult time in hearing what the officers were saying while presenting their cases. This is due to the ante-room being a gathering place for officers waiting to testify in other areas of the courthouse.
· Judge and jury foreman should stress to impended jurors the importance of being present and on time. Occasional emergencies are understood, but jurors should not volunteer for the four months if they suspect there may be work conflict issues, child care issues, etc. Set up in advance via phone call, a list of three to four prospective jurors who can plan to appear on scheduled days. If they are not needed they can be called by 8:30 or 9am, otherwise have them scheduled to show up to make a complete panel by 10am or so (times flexible).
· The positive outcome of drug court and mental health court are excellent, and we hope to see the programs expanded and increased to serve more individuals battling drug addiction and mental health issues.
· We would also like to recommend that the state constitution’s regulations regarding misdemeanors be revisited; we observed that far too many misdemeanors are bound over to the Grand Jury which could much more easily be handled in Sessions Court. These misdemeanors waste the state’s time and money.
· We also feel that everyone including employees of the court, media, and lawyers should have their items that they bring with them scanned and walk through the metal detectors
Silverdale Tour Recommendations:
· Opportunities for education, library resources, job skills should continue to be worked on and expanded, particularly the reading/phonics program for the inmates. We learned most inmates have a 5th grade reading level.
· More funding should be provided for an improved and larger kitchen facility. The existing facility which services all inmates from the upper campus seems over tasked for the job and for the number of meals service. The building or expansion of a more central, modernized facility should be considered.
· We feel that having an older female guard in charge of men’s unit doesn’t seem safe and she could be easily overpowered.
In our overall opinion appears this to be a very well ran facility.
Tour of Juvenile Detention Center Observations
We had the pleasure of talking to Judge Philyaw while we were there and he seemed to really care about helping the youth of Hamilton County who come before him. He realized that the youth who come before him are at a critical stage in their life and he has the opportunity to help guide these individuals towards completing their education and becoming valuable and productive members of our society.
· We would like to see heating/AC unit be added to the gym as we were advised that it could not be used 10 months out of the year
Hamilton County Jail Observations
The tour of this facility was eye opening for each of us. There are things that we saw on the tour that will stay with us as we leave the service of the Grand Jury. What immediately became apparent to us was the overcrowding of the jail. The inmates need to be kept occupied – it seems they have way too much time on their hands which leads to trouble within the jail. We would like to see a heat and air unit added to the gym. We were advised that it was also only used 2 months out of the year.
Even though the jail is understaffed, they appear to be competent, dedicated and humane. They seemed to balance the need for discipline with human dignity.
We would like to thank each criminal court Judge, Judge Steelman, Judge Poole, and Judge Greenholtz for taking the time to come talk to us about their individual duties and respective programs that they operate as part of their overall duties.
We would also like to thank our Assistant District Attorney, Jerry Sloan for his guidance and any explanations of the law in different situations. Also, we are very appreciative of our foreperson for his guidance, keeping the Grand Jury process running smoothly and for maintaining a pleasant atmosphere in the Grand Jury room. Last but certainly not least, we would like to thank our note taker. She was very attentive and thorough while assisting our Assistant DA.
In conclusion, we felt honored to serve our community by sitting on the Concurrent Grand Jury. The interaction with all law enforcement officers and learning details about the dangerous situations they face everyday gave us a greater respect for what they do. We have also seen/witnessed several areas, outlined above, where there is room for improvement. Overall, we each enjoyed our experience and will take what we have learned with us as our time serving on the Concurrent Grand Jury come to an end.
The Concurrent Grand Jury, serving during the May-August 2018 term, heard witness testify on 315 cases.