CB 02 Facility Sanitation and Maintenance

Last modified by Ryan Larkin on 2022/02/16 16:25

Washington County Sheriff's Office

CORRECTIONS DIVISION

Policy Manual

Volume: CB

Facility Management

Chapter: 02

Facility Sanitation and Maintenance

Replaces and/or Supersedes:

CB 02 04/13/2010, 07/05/2012

Published:

07/05/2011

Date Reviewed:

12/16/2021

Sheriff Nate Brooksby

Chief Deputy Trevor Benson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CB 02_101 Definitions

CB 02_102 Sanitation Plan

CB 02_103 Cleaning Supplies

CB 02_104 Mattresses

CB 02_105 Inmate Responsibilities

CB 02_106 Maintenance Plan

CB 02_107 Inspections

CB 02_101 DEFINITIONS

WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility

CB 02_102 SANITATION PLAN

Policy:
1. The Corrections Chief Deputy shall ensure that staff and inmates maintain a high standard of facility sanitation and general cleanliness.
2. PCF shall comply with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations and requirements governing methods for handling and disposing of refuse.
3. A facility cleaning and sanitation plan should be developed, and updated as necessary, to provide for general facility cleanliness and sanitation. Facility cleanliness and sanitation shall be maintained at a level that meets recognized standards of hygiene, including those from the:
  1. American Correctional Association;
  2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
  3. Environmental Protection Agency;
  4. Food and Drug Administration;
  5. National Fire Protection Association's Life Safety Code; and
  6. National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
4. The Medical Branch shall assist in the identification and correction of conditions that could adversely impact the health of inmates, employees, and visitors. The Medical Branch Director is responsible for developing and implementing policies, procedures, and guidelines for the environmental health program that are intended to evaluate and eliminate or control as necessary, sources of injuries and modes of transmission of agents or vectors of communicable diseases.
5. The Medical Branch Director, or designee, should:
  1. Conduct special investigations and comprehensive surveys of environmental health conditions; and
  2. Provide advisory, consultative, inspection, and training services regarding environmental health conditions.
6. The Medical Branch Director is responsible for:
  1. Implementing a program that assists in maintaining a high level of environmental sanitation; and
  2. Providing recommendations to the Corrections Chief Deputy concerning environmental health conditions.
7. The sanitation plan should identify required tasks and should include a schedule for completing various cleaning and sanitation tasks including, but not limited to:
  1. Sweeping and mopping floors at least once each day. When soiled, the double-bucket mopping technique shall be used with a hospital disinfectant-detergent solution mixed according to the manufacturers' directions. A clean mop head shall be used each time the floors are mopped;
  2. Waxing or sealing floors as needed;
  3. Scrubbing or washing:
    1. Walls and ceilings as needed, but at least monthly;
    2. Steel grille (bars), bunk bed frames, ledges, security screens, light fixtures, ventilation duct covers, radiators, and other exposed surfaces at least once per week; and
    3. Dayroom tables and seats as needed, but at least once per day;
  4. Scrubbing and drying toilets, sinks, showers at least once each day and disinfecting at least once each week;
  5. Cleaning windows, window frames, and windowsills on a regular schedule, but daily cleaning is not required.
  6. Requiring inmates to clean their living areas and make their beds each morning;
  7. Prohibiting and enforcing prohibitions against inmates storing food in cells (except for packaged commissary items for which storage has been approved);
  8. Prohibiting pinups, posters, or other materials from being displayed on living area walls (however, jail officials may allow for a small designated wall area for displaying photographs or other authorized material);
  9. Providing inmates with cleaning equipment (e.g., brooms, mops, buckets, rags) and disinfecting supplies (whenever possible, should not be poisonous, toxic, or caustic);
  10. Providing labeling and secure storage for cleaning supplies that are poisonous, toxic, caustic, or are otherwise hazardous;
  11. Cleaning mops (and other cleaning equipment) and storing in ventilated closets or other appropriate areas;
  12. Spraying for vermin as needed (as determined by inspections). PCF shall contract with licensed pest-control professionals to perform monthly inspections to identify and eradicate rodents, insects, and vermin. The contract shall include a preventive spraying program for indigenous insects and a provision for callback services as necessary.
  13. Sanitizing barbering equipment (reference policy: CH 13 Personal Hygiene);
  14. Changing waste container liners daily (waste containers shall be non-porous and lined with plastic bags). Waste containers shall be washed at least weekly, or more frequently as needed;
Rationale:
1. General facility cleanliness and sanitation can help to prevent the spread of disease.
2. Constitutional violations may occur when sanitation problems have a serious effect on inmates.

CB 02_104 CLEANING SUPPLIES

Policy:
1. Cleaning supplies should be inventoried by staff prior to being given to inmates.
2. Cleaning supplies should be inventoried immediately after receipt from inmates.
3. When possible, non-toxic cleaning supplies shall be used.
Rationale:
1. Regular inventories of cleaning supplies used by inmates allow for the discovery of contraband and broken or missing cleaning items.

CB 02_105 MATTRESSES

Policy:
1. Mattresses should be cleaned and sanitized prior to being issued to inmates.
Rationale:
1. Clean and sanitized mattresses help prevent the spread of disease.

CB 02_106 INMATE RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy:
1. Inmates should be assigned cleaning and sanitation responsibilities according to their classification levels and housing assignments.
2. Pretrial detainees should be required to clean their own living areas.
3. Convicted inmates should be required to clean their own living areas and can be required to participate in other jail work assignments.
4. An inmate may be excused from engaging in cleaning responsibilities if, in the judgment of jail officials, his mental or physical condition makes it otherwise inappropriate to assign.
5. Inmate responsibilities should be clearly defined in writing (reference policy: CG 07 Orientation and Rules).
Rationale:
1. Involving inmates in cleaning and sanitation tasks:
  1. Reduces inmate idle time;
  2. Teaches a work ethic and develops work habits;
  3. Reduces maintenance and sanitation costs.

CB 02_107 MAINTENANCE PLAN

Policy:
1. PCF shall work in conjunction with county maintenance to adopt and implement a maintenance plan for the facility.
2. The maintenance plan should include, but not be limited to:
  1. A schedule for preventative maintenance tasks;
  2. Responsibility for assigning and carrying out work assignments;
  3. Repainting or refinishing surfaces, as needed, to prevent deterioration;
  4. Inspecting and repairing:
    1. Plumbing;
    2. Lighting and other electrical systems;
    3. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system;
    4. Bunks, tables, and other furnishings;
    5. Locks;
    6. Grilles, bars, doors, windows, walls, and other security barrier components;
    7. Surveillance equipment and other control room equipment;
  5. Emergency power generators shall be tested on a regular basis and shall be inspected for mechanical readiness to perform in an emergency situation.
  6. Power generators shall be inspected in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and instruction manual. Among other things, the starting battery voltage, generator voltage, and amperage output shall be checked.
  7. Other emergency equipment and systems shall be tested quarterly, and needed follow-up repairs or replacements shall be accomplished as soon as feasible.
3. Inmates may be used in jail maintenance tasks. However, inmates should not be used in a manner that would provide them the means or knowledge to defeat jail security systems.
Rationale:
1. Constitutional violations may occur when maintenance problems have a serious effect on inmates' safety or welfare.
2. Damage to walls, floors, ceilings, fences, and other areas may suggest the possibility of a pending escape attempt.
3. When the integrity of the facility or its security components are degraded, the security and safety of the facility is diminished.
4. Plumbing, electrical, and heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems are critical to maintaining a proper living environment.
5. Inadequate maintenance may be used by plaintiffs in combination with other problems to portray jail officials as indifferent to inmates' needs.
6. There is a substantial risk that knowledge gained by inmate workers may be passed on to other inmates and added to the general body of inmates' knowledge of jail security systems.

CB 02_108 INSPECTIONS

Policy:
1. Compliance with all applicable safety and sanitation laws will be ensured by documented internal and external inspections and corrective action when indicated. Reference policy: CB 03 Facility Inspections.
Rationale:
1. A higher degree of safety and security can be reached through compliance with established laws and regulations.