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CG 03 Inmate Grievance

Last modified by superadmin on 2021/04/06 16:17

Washington County Sheriff's Office

CORRECTIONS DIVISION

Policy Manual

Volume: CG

Inmate Management

Chapter: 03

Inmate Grievance

Replaces and/or Supersedes:

CG 03 09/01/2011, Review 11/14/2012

Published:

11/14/2011

Date Reviewed:

04/06/2021

Sheriff Cory C. Pulsipher

Chief Deputy Jake Schultz

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CG 03_101  Definitions

CG 03_102  References

CG 03_103  General

CG 03_104  Scope

CG 03_105  Emergency Grievances

CG 03_106  Retaliation

CG 03_107  Process

CG 03_108  Timeliness

CG 03_109  Employee Misconduct

CG 03_101  DEFINITIONS

  1. WCSO:  Washington County Sheriff's Office
  2. PCF:  Purgatory Correctional Facility
  3. PLRA:  Prison Litigation Reform Act

CG 03_102  REFERENCES

  1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Standards:
    1. 35.
  2. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
    1. ML-V.A.9.
  3. 42 USC ยง1997e (a).
  4. Utah Sheriff's Association Jail Standards:
    1. D05.01.01:  Written Prisoner Grievance Policies and Procedures Required
    2. D05.01.02:  Content of Grievance Policies and Procedures
    3. D05.02.01:  Grievance System Function
    4. D05.02.02:  Resolution at Lowest Level
    5. D05.02.03:  Scope of Grievance Process
    6. D05.02.04:  Emergency Grievances
    7. D05.02.05:  Retaliation Prohibited
    8. D05.02.06:  Requirement to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

CG 03_103  GENERAL

  1. Policy:
    1. PCF shall have a grievance system to allow inmates a formal process to address complaints and other concerns.
    2. Inmates shall be encouraged to resolve grievances at the lowest level, when possible and appropriate.
    3. 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.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Because the PLRA requires inmates to exhaust prison administrative procedures prior to filing certain federal lawsuits, the establishment of an inmate grievance system may allow for issues to be resolved without litigation.
    2. A grievance system can be used by jail officials to identify operational dysfunction, inmate frustration, and other management problems.
    3. Inmates may require a translator or may not have the skills necessary to submit a grievance form on their own.

CG 03_104  SCOPE

  1. Policy:
    1. 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.
    2. In general, all inmate complaints should be grievable, except complaints against:
      1. 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);
      2. Disciplinary actions (Inmates shall be allowed a disciplinary appeal process. Reference policy: CG 07 Punitive Discipline); and
      3. Classification assignments (Inmates shall be allowed a classification challenge process. Reference policy CG 05 Classification).
  2. Rationale:
    1. 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.
    2. PCF cannot productively or appropriately effect resolution of grievance issues that PCF has no control over.

CG 03_105  EMERGENCY GRIEVANCES

  1. Policy:
    1. All employees shall be trained in how to expedite emergency grievances.
    2. For grievances of an emergency nature (e.g., medical, safety, etc.), information may be taken and forwarded verbally in order to expedite possible resolution.
    3. Emergency grievances shall be documented in the jail computer system and shall include, but not be limited to:
      1. Who the information was received by;
      2. Who the information was routed to;
      3. Dates and times of events.
  2. Rationale:
    1. 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.

CG 03_106  RETALIATION

  1. Policy:
    1. Retaliation against inmates for using the grievance system is prohibited.
  2. Rationale:
    1. 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.
    2. 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.

CG 03_107  PROCESS

  1. Policy:
    1. Electronic grievance forms are accessed via the inmate kiosks.
    2. The PCF inmate grievance system shall consist of two levels:
      1. A grievance may be filed by any inmate via a Level-1 grievance form.
      2. 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.
    3. All grievance forms should be forwarded to the appropriate supervisor of the area or issue being grieved.
    4. The employee who receives a completed grievance form (1 or 2) from an inmate shall:
      1. Answer the grievance;
      2. Identify the disposition; and;
      3. Return the response to the inmate via the inmate kiosk system.
    5. Answers to grievances shall be documented in the inmate kiosk computer system.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Formal procedures may allow the grievance system to function more effectively.

CG 03_108  TIMELINESS

  1. Policy:
    1. Grievances should be filed within seven days of the event being grieved.
    2. Grievances should be answered within seven days of receipt by a supervisor.
    3. Extensions beyond the seven days require notification to the inmate.
  2. Rationale:
    1. In order to be addressed most effectively, grievances should be answered in a timely manner.

CG 03_109  EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT

  1. Policy:
    1. Grievances that include employee misconduct shall be answered by a supervisor at least one rank higher than the employee being grieved.
    2. A copy of grievances that include employee misconduct shall be forwarded to the Corrections Chief Deputy.
  2. Rationale:
    1. 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.