Saturday, March 5, 2005

County detention center wants to let prisoners know who's in charge

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas When the county took over the detention center earlier this year, Michael Oliver, the jail's interim administrator, had a vision. Not only does he want to make sure that the inmates, the public and those who work in the detention facility are safe, but he's also determined to change the facility's reputation.

"Fortunately, the transition from the private company to the county-run management of the detention center has gone exceptionally well," Oliver said. "Currently we are fully staffed with 31 detention officers, three captains and three sergeants."

After the transition was complete, Oliver said he wanted to lead the detention center in a different direction — a route of professionalism and competence.

With the help of a multi-agency task force, a facility-wide lock-down was conducted in mid-February as detention officers searched for any type of contraband that could be used as a weapon or to facilitate an escape. They were also searching for illicit narcotics. Oliver said this was only one of many to come.

"Through the help of Warden Joe Romero of the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility (in Los Lunas), we were blessed with the use of their K-9 officers and their dogs and members of their critical response team and gang unit," said Deputy Warden Derek Williams. "With this help, we organized a search of the detention facility."

There are many reasons why detention centers conduct these types facility-wide sweeps. Oliver said it's critical to the safety of the inmates, the staff and the public that organized searches are conducted.

"This give us the opportunity to lock the facility up and not have the inmates walking around," Oliver said. "It limits their opportunity to hide it or to relocate it from its original positions.

"You have to have some unannounced searches; it also gives us the opportunity to hit everyone at one time," he said. "More often than not, when we go in and do one search at a time, if the inmates are hiding contraband, they often will hide it from place to place."

But before the officers went in, an operational agenda was set in motion to assist in determining everyone's role in the lock-down and search. Oliver said the plan included strategies about how and when it would take place, which teams were needed to escort inmates in and out of their cells, who would search the inmates and who would thoroughly search the cells.

The search, which began at 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 and ended at 2 p.m., was conducted in all areas of the facility, including the general population units, segregation and in the women's unit. Williams said that, in the end, not a lot was found. While a small amount of marijuana was located, detention officers didn't find any dangerous weapons or narcotics.

Maintaining control and order is imperative to any detention facility. By showing the inmates that searches will be conducted on a regular basis is something both Oliver and Williams is dedicated to accomplishing.

"It was a success," Oliver said. "We want them to understand that we won't tolerate them doing whatever they want. We treat them with dignity and respect and ask that they treat our staff the same.

"All in all, it helps us build a rapport between the agencies and share resources. It's a morale builder for the officers. This was the first time we ever had a search of this magnitude in this facility involving other agencies."

Being able to work with other agencies is a great benefit, Williams said. While working with the multi-agency task force gave some of the newer detention officers an opportunity to meet other people in the same field, it was also a learning experience.

Williams also said that the facility is currently working on establishing its own critical response team that would be made up from the detention center, the department of corrections and local law enforcement. He said team members will be trained in extractions and the use of chemical agents in case of an emergency situation inside the facility.

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