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Wiki source code of CG 03 Inmate Grievance

Version 1.1 by Ryan Larkin on 2016/09/27 17:36
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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **CORRECTIONS DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: CG
9
10 Inmate Management
11
12 Chapter: 03
13
14 Inmate Grievance
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 CG 03 09/01/2011, Review 11/14/2012
20
21 Published:
22
23 11/14/2011
24
25 Date Reviewed:
26
27 10/26/2015
28
29
30 Sheriff Cory C. Pulsipher
31
32 Chief Deputy Jake Schultz
33
34
35 **__TABLE OF CONTENTS__**
36
37 CG 03_101 Definitions
38
39 CG 03_102 References
40
41 CG 03_103 General
42
43 CG 03_104 Scope
44
45 CG 03_105 Emergency Grievances
46
47 CG 03_106 Retaliation
48
49 CG 03_107 Process
50
51 CG 03_108 Timeliness
52
53 CG 03_109 Employee Misconduct
54
55
56 **CG 03_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
57
58 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
59 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
60 1. PLRA: Prison Litigation Reform Act
61
62
63 **CG 03_102 __REFERENCES__**
64
65 1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Standards:
66 11. 35.
67 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
68 11. ML-V.A.9.
69 1. 42 USC ยง1997e (a).
70 1. Utah Sheriff's Association Jail Standards:
71 11. D05.01.01: Written Prisoner Grievance Policies and Procedures Required
72 11. D05.01.02: Content of Grievance Policies and Procedures
73 11. D05.02.01: Grievance System Function
74 11. D05.02.02: Resolution at Lowest Level
75 11. D05.02.03: Scope of Grievance Process
76 11. D05.02.04: Emergency Grievances
77 11. D05.02.05: Retaliation Prohibited
78 11. D05.02.06: Requirement to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
79
80
81 **CG 03_103 __GENERAL__**
82
83 1. Policy:
84 11. PCF shall have a grievance system to allow inmates a formal process to address complaints and other concerns.
85 11. Inmates shall be encouraged to resolve grievances at the lowest level, when possible and appropriate.
86 11. Inmates may seek help from other inmates or facility employees when preparing a grievance. Illiterate, disabled, or non-English speaking inmates shall receive special assistance when necessary.
87 1. Rationale:
88 11. Because the PLRA requires inmates to exhaust prison administrative procedures prior to filing certain federal lawsuits, establishment of an inmate grievance system may allow for issues to be resolved without litigation.
89 11. A grievance system can be used by jail officials to identify operational dysfunction, inmate frustration, and other management problems.
90 11. Inmates may require a translator or may not have the skills necessary to submit a grievance form on their own.
91
92
93 **CG 03_104 __SCOPE__**
94
95 1. Policy:
96 11. The grievance system should be used as a means of receiving, processing, and resolving inmate complaints including, but not limited to, those involving policies, procedures, practices, regulations, conditions, and employee conduct.
97 11. In general, all inmate complaints should be grievable, except complaints against:
98 111. Issues which PCF has no control over (e.g., decisions and procedures of the Board of Pardons and Parole, Utah Department of Corrections, or other outside agencies);
99 111. Disciplinary actions (Inmates shall be allowed a disciplinary appeal process. Reference policy: CG 07 Punitive Discipline); and
100 111. Classification assignments (Inmates shall be allowed a classification challenge process. Reference policy CG 05 Classification).
101 1. Rationale:
102 11. Because formal grievances may notify supervisors of issues they were otherwise unaware of, it is beneficial to PCF to allow inmates to grieve relatively any issue.
103 11. PCF cannot productively or appropriately effect resolution of grievance issues that PCF has no control over.
104
105
106 **CG 03_105 __EMERGENCY GRIEVANCES__**
107
108 1. Policy:
109 11. All employees shall be trained in how to expedite emergency grievances.
110 11. For grievances of an emergency nature (e.g., medical, safety, etc.), information may be taken and forwarded verbally in order to expedite possible resolution.
111 11. Emergency grievances shall be documented in the jail computer system and shall include, but not be limited to:
112 111. Who the information was received by;
113 111. Who the information was routed to;
114 111. Dates and times of events.
115 1. Rationale:
116 11. Addressing grievances of an emergency nature in an expedited manner may help avoid serious problems that could not be avoided by following standard (non-expedited) procedures.
117
118
119 **CG 03_106 __RETALIATION__**
120
121 1. Policy:
122 11. Retaliation against inmates for using the grievance system is prohibited.
123 1. Rationale:
124 11. Retaliation against inmates may create a cause of action for violation of the inmate's civil rights, even if what is done in retaliation would not by itself be an unconstitutional act.
125 11. Retaliation would reduce the willingness of inmates to use the grievance system to resolve problems, which would be contrary to the interests of the jail.
126
127
128 **CG 03_107 __PROCESS__**
129
130 1. Policy:
131 11. Electronic grievance forms are accessed via the inmate kiosks.
132 11. The PCF inmate grievance system shall consist of two levels:
133 111. A grievance may be filed by any inmate via a Level-1 grievance form.
134 111. A grievance appeal may be filed by any inmate via a Level-2 grievance form after a Level-1 form has been filed and answered.
135 11. All grievance forms should be forwarded to the appropriate supervisor of the area or issue being grieved.
136 11. The employee who receives a completed grievance form (1 or 2) from an inmate shall:
137 111. Answer the grievance;
138 111. Identify the disposition; and;
139 111. Return the response to the inmate via the inmate kiosk system.
140 11. Answers to grievances shall be documented in the inmate kiosk computer system.
141 1. Rationale:
142 11. Formal procedures may allow the grievance system to function more effectively.
143
144
145 **CG 03_108 __TIMELINESS__**
146
147 1. Policy:
148 11. Grievances should be filed within seven days of the event being grieved.
149 11. Grievances should be answered within seven days of receipt by a supervisor.
150 11. Extensions beyond the seven days require notification to the inmate.
151 1. Rationale:
152 11. In order to be addressed most effectively, grievances should be answered in a timely manner.
153
154
155 **CG 03_109 __EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT__**
156
157 1. Policy:
158 11. Grievances that include employee misconduct shall be answered by a supervisor at least one rank higher than the employee being grieved.
159 11. A copy of grievances that include employee misconduct shall be forwarded to the Corrections Chief Deputy.
160 1. Rationale:
161 11. Employee misconduct could cause serious problems and/or liability issues for PCF and the WCSO. Thus, it is important that upper-level supervisors are aware of the issues being grieved.