Dual investigations at county jail result in substantial reforms, not criminal charges

Despite the numerous signs of progress at the Oklahoma County Detention Center in the last year, two major investigations presented serious challenges. In the end, both produced numerous policy recommendations for improvement without criminal indictments or budget-crippling fines.    

In March 2023, the state’s Multicounty Grand Jury delivered its long-awaited report on the operations at the Oklahoma County Detention Center and oversight by the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority, or Jail Trust. The grand jury cited numerous concerns with operations and oversight at the detention center but did not return any criminal indictments of Trustees or staff. In fact, the grand jury noted that the Trust Authority and staff “cooperated fully” and “readily provided” information, “including information that was potentially inculpatory or embarrassing to the Trust.” The grand jury report determined that trustees were “honest, earnest” and support “the best interests of the OCDC.”   

The grand jury report noted numerous irregularities related to internal investigations including death investigations, cooperation with drug investigations from other agencies and in-house counsel’s modification of reports before being presented to the District Attorney, among other related issues. To quickly address the concern, the District Attorney’s office has taken over legal representation of the Jail Trust so investigation and charging decisions go directly to the DA’s office. The grand jury report also highlighted staffing concerns and recommended an additional 100 staff be added. To respond to this, the detention center has continued its outreach through job fairs and increasing the number of applicants in training academies. Nevertheless, staffing continues to be one of the jail’s top challenges, not unlike other correctional facilities nationwide. Finally, the grand jury noted the passage of the new jail bond proposal stating that they believed, “some of the problems that the OCDC has encountered are directly correlated to a poor jail design…” OCDC staff continue to assess and implement other policy recommendations.  

A few weeks after the grand jury report, the regulatory compliance process initiated by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) also concluded with a large fine. OSDH noted numerous health deficiencies in multiple repeat inspections dating back to early 2021 and then filed an Administrative Compliance Order to force the jail to correct them. Those deficiencies covered everything from missed health and safety site checks by staff, to unclean areas throughout the facility, to bed bugs and contraband problems. Through a court-administered negotiated settlement, the OSDH fine totaled $175,000. In a positive twist, the OSDH did not take payment to benefit its own budget but instead required the detention center to use that same amount to fix the deficiencies and comply with state regulations, requiring that the detention center “shall invest the total sum…for the sole purpose of using the funds to achieve substantial compliance with” the state’s Jail Standards Regulations. OCDC will have to show a final accounting of all expenditures. 

The OCDC has already taken steps to improve compliance. This includes purchasing thicker, high-quality mattresses made of ripstop material with an integrated pillow. These new mattresses have 100% sealed seams to prevent odors and contaminants, including bed bugs. Alongside the mattress upgrade, the facility has implemented a comprehensive bed bug control strategy utilizing new chemicals. They’ve also conducted thorough top-to-bottom spraying twice since the settlement was finalized. 

This story originally appeared in the Criminal Justice Advisory Council Annual Report. The full report is available here.