Jail Division - 2008

    The Jail Division is charged with the safe and secure operation of the Stark County Jail. The division is staffed by county employees who serve as Deputy Sheriff's, Corrections Officers, Drug & Alcohol Counselors, Clerks, and Supervisors.    In addition contract service employees for food, medical and mental health needs also make  up the division as well as volunteers.  These persons ensure the security of the jail and provide the wide array of services to the prisoners that are required by state and federal laws.  Some of the services are:  counseling, visitation, religious, commissary , library, and educational

The Stark County Sheriff’s Office has taken an aggressive lead in contracting many of these services to private companies in the community that once were performed by Sheriff's Office employees.  The total medical / mental health and food services are both under contract to outside vendors, and Deputies once assigned there have been re-assigned to either jail security or law enforcement duties. This concept has been proven to be cost effective and affords a more manageable system of control and inventory.

Prisoners confined in the jail include those charged with every type of criminal offense from the most minor traffic charge to those facing capital punishment. These include prisoners awaiting trial or sentencing, transfer to a state institution, fugitives awaiting return to other states, and those inmates awaiting probation or parole revocations. Also confined in the jail are those persons committed by any of the counties’ three municipal courts, Common Pleas Courts and Domestic Relations Courts.

The Stark County Jail is a 24 hour a day booking facility for all law enforcement agencies in Stark County

The jail contains space to keep 501 inmates. There were 11,767 individuals booked into the Stark County Jail in 2007.  Persons sentenced to the county jail may remain up to two years. However, the average time spent in the county jail was 19 days.  

Booking - operates around the clock, seven days a week with a staff of twelve (12) officers and five (5) booking clerks.  They are responsible for the booking and releasing of all inmates. 
    The booking clerks obtain all pertinent information from the arresting agency and the offender, which they then record in the Jail's Information Management System. 
    The officers fingerprint and photograph each inmate for identification purposes.  Officers classify each inmate for tendency of violence/vulnerability  for housing purposes.  They also inventory and store each prisoner's personal effects for safekeeping and contraband control.  Officers ensure that before housing an inmate that the inmate showers, is issued jail clothing, a hygiene kit, bedding, and a copy of the jail Rules and Regulations.
    Total bookings for 2007 were 11,767 and the releases amounted to 11,747

Sex Offenders - are registered through the ID Bureau.  A registration consists of fingerprints, photographs, and a Duty to Register Form being completed.  Offenders are also registered on an on-line system called ESORN which is a direct connection to Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation
    Any person required to register must notify the Sheriff's Office every time they change their address or employment within the county or are going to move out of the county.
    The number of registered sex offenders in Stark County for 2007 is 735 and the number of registrations were 1,260.

CERT - Correctional Emergency Response Team:   In 1998 the formation of a Correctional Emergency Response Team  was started utilizing Correctional Officers assigned to the jail security force.  These officers are assigned to each shift and respond to all use of force, cell extractions, fights and any disorders within the jail.  They all have assigned positions and specialized equipment to handle these incidents.

Inmate Services -     The purpose of Inmate Services is to assist inmates with non-medical social service needs and to provide inmate programs.  The department consists of one (1) supervisor, four (4) service officers, two (2) account officers, and two (2) clerks.
    Inmate Services has many functions and responsibilities, including: commissary; visitation; assisting inmates making phone calls for legal representation and social services; prisoner property releases; processing inmate property left behind; sorting inmate mail; inmate haircuts; assembling and distribution of inmate care packages; hygiene kits and handbooks.
    Commissary sales for 2007 were $258,947.  The profit from the commissary sales are used to purchase hygiene products, clothing for the indigent inmates, inmate uniforms, footwear, linens, bedding and anything that benefits a prisoner.
   
    Religious Services - non-denominational Chapel Services and Bible Study classes are provided each week.  Currently close to 400 Clergy and volunteers are registered with the jail.  Inmate Services conducts background checks on each applicant for registered clergy.  Bibles and other religious materials are distributed to the inmates upon request.

    AA & NA -only those inmates who are classified as non-violent may participate in these weekly jail programs.  In an effort to nurture responsible behavior, inmates are removed from the program if they miss more then one meeting.

    AOD program - a chemical dependency counseling program to inmates with substance abuse problems.  On-site counselors facilitate the groups; provide case management services and aftercare for inmates in the program.  This program was developed in an effort to control jail overcrowding and to make the most efficient use of a sentenced prisoners time in a productive manner.

    Inmate work detail - the Sheriff's Office utilized 52 inmates as workers, 48 male and 4 female.  It is estimated that the labor savings that these inmates provide Stark County is over one million dollars.

The details that they do are as follows:
    ADMINISTRATION -  keep the front offices, lobby, classroom, locker rooms, patrol room  and restrooms clean along with the Emergency Preparedness Agency and 911.  These inmates also replace ceiling tiles and paint walls and ceilings as needed

    GARAGE - wash and perform preventative maintenance checks on the vehicles.  Check fluid levels, tire pressures, air cleaners and wax the cars as needed.

    KITCHEN -  inmates working this area unload delivery vehicles, they are trained to prepare meals under the guidance of contract food service personnel, and they maintain the kitchen to state healthcode regulations as to food preparation, storage and cleanliness.

    MAINTENANCE - assist our maintenance personnel as helpers and provide total grounds keeping service.

    SCRUB GANG - pass cleaning supplies into the inmate housing units.  They clean on a daily schedule the floors, walls, bars, windows, heating ducts. vents and lights in the jail.  Basically they provide janitorial services in the jail.
   
    LITTER DETAIL - in 2000 the Stark County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Transportation, started a program utilizing inmates to pick up litter along designated state routes within Stark County.  This program has expanded to several crews and the participation of the Stark Waste Management District.  The deputies working this assignment are paid by these agencies and Stark County is reimbursed for the use of the vehicles.  No General Fund monies are expended on this very successful program.

Food Service - ABL Food Management   The food service staff has one (1) manager and six (6) cook supervisors.  All seven (7) are responsible for serving, training, and maintaining the kitchen.  They work with twenty-four (24) inmate workers that help to prepare and deliver the meals to the housing areas.  A four week cycle of menus is used and has been analyzed by using the Food Processor Nutritional Analysis Program which ensures that each inmate receives an average of 2,700 to 3,200 calories per day.
    In a years time, 15,000 pounds of ground meat, 7,000 pounds of turkey bologna, and over 1,000 gallons of pudding are used for meals
   

Medical Department - Correctional Health Care Group, Inc.   The medical department has a staff or 20, which includes one (1) director, two (2) doctors, one (1) dentist, four (4) registered nurses, and seven (7) licensed practical nurses. 
    Mental health staff includes one (1) psychiatrist, one (1) psychologist and two (2) counselors.

Maintenance Unit
    The maintenance unit consists of four (4) employees.  They perform all routine maintenance for the entire Stark County Safety Building and the extensive grounds.
   Duties consist of electrical work, mechanical work, plumbing, welding and maintaining the various mechanical systems throughout the building, such as: cell doors, boilers, water softeners, HVAC and keeping the kitchen facilities operational.
    Seasonal issues are: in the summer months there is mowing to be completed, in the winter months the sidewalks, driveways and parking lots must be cleared of snow and ice. 

Some interesting facts and information about county jails and how the Stark County Jail measures up for the citizens of Stark County

Jail Division inspection by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitatin and Correction