Another unsigned letter describing horrible conditions at the Hinds County Detention Center at Raymond was sent to the media as well as the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. Take it for what it is worth as it is unsigned. However, pictures of contraband allegedly seized during a recent shakedown were provided with the letter. A similar letter was posted earlier this month and should be read. The letter and photographs are posted below.
20 comments:
We all new Sheriff Lewis was bad (full of bad ideas - and just an overall idiot when it came to running a sheriff's office), but Victor was elected by us to correct these issues. We told him we will help you any way we can, and he acknowledged that he would need it. As soon as he was elected he quit trying to put together a working team that could handle these kind of problems. Instead he started working on trying to be the next Michael Jackson of Hinds County (and he cannot even do that right). He quit speaking to all of the folks that helped him get elected that knew anything about fixing problems. His idea of fixing the jail, is just walk away real fast and act like he never saw it. Folks, he is a QUITTER, and a weak one at that! There are other issues just as severe as the one mentioned in the letter above scattered all throughout the Sheriff's Office and Hinds County, and unless there is a major shift in the attitude and work ethic (or overall leadership) of the sheriff we the taxed subjects of Hinds County can get our check books out, and unfortunately, he's probably going to let some of these deputies get hurt for life (or worse) and the bad thing is, he don't even care. Remember his letter after his feeling were stepped on at General Assembly. You can burn for all he cares, it is all about him.
A lawsuit is inedible? Can HCSO atleast hire staff with proper grammar and spell check abilities?
Dear Veteran Deputy,
SIMPLE solution. Move to another county and become an officer there.
Favorite part: lawsuit is inedible
Hinds really seems to be staying out of the news.....except the jail. That’s what you call the thorn in their side. Poor management, yes. But also a poorly conceived facility several decades ago. The gift that keeps on giving from the sweetheart deals made long ago when the place was constructed. All the beneficiaries are long gone.
You lost me at inedible.
Not really. I love reading crap by people that type faster than their brain. He probably really did mean inedible.
OK; I can forgive a typo, but, I'm sitting here trying to figure out what word was actually meant to be in that sentence.
Let’s start a movement to get rid of the Supervisors of Hinds County!!!
@1:05, I think the term that was meant to be used was inevitable
Inevitable....
I believe that he/she intended to say “ inevitable “. Lighten up. The employee is trying to address a potentially catastrophic problem and you are only concerned that the wrong word was used.
Grand juries take up these matters if the Board won't. What is the chemistry between the Sheriff & DA?
Privatize the jail. The company will build a new facility that will actually function properly. And theu can hire different staff. Oh wait they wont, because they cant pad the pockets of "minority" companies again....to get sub par workmanship and workers
1:38 and 4:31, what exactly do y’all want the Board of Supervisor’s to do? They have no legal authority over another elected official or the personnel of another elected official. They already spend about 40% of the General fund on the Sherriff’s office. They inherited a crappy physical facility, as 11:49 notes. 6:33 is probably right about privatizing, but that’ll gut the Sheriff’s budget and he’ll make that political. Bad situation with no easy answers.
The Okay @ 4:31 you are obviously not from here and clueless but thanks for the input. 9:18 nailed it. The Hinds county detention center was a horrible mess from the start. It is a direct supervision facility and it takes 25-30 detention officers to run it correctly per shift. Even if the department transitions from 8hr shifts to 12hr shifts it will take 60 detention officers per day to properly staff the facility and that isn't going to happen. Other county facilities in the metro area operate at less than half that many personnel with much more success because they have the proper facilities to maintain security and order. The Raymond Detention Center or RDC was failing under the supervision of sheriff McMillin. It collapsed under the supervision of sheriff Lewis because he didnt know how unstable it was and made too many changes at one time to correct the issue and ultimately he lost control. Sheriff Mason made a lot of promises without having any of the necessary information or even a plan because he was just that arrogant. The Hinds county sheriff's department will NEVER operate at the level expected by the tax payers until a new facility is built. RDC was a bad idea from the beginning. The bigger problem is Hinds county doesn't have the money to build a new detention center. Even though I'm not a fan of the Hinds county BOS, I'm sure they want to fix the problem as badly as the tax pays want results but they don't have the means. Until then we need to elect a sheriff who plans to focus on detention services for a while. I know that isnt a popular opinion with the Jackson residents who want the sheriff's department to swoop in and save the day fixing Jackson's crime problem but in truth that isnt the responsibility of the sheriff. So while you're bickering like children about grammar or typos understand this. If you haven't been there and experiencened the problem for yourself try volunteering for a shift at RDC instead of making uninformed or misguided suggestions. Then maybe you'll understand the truth and what it will take to remedy the situation.
7:23, "Jackson's crime problem but in truth that isnt the responsibility of the sheriff"
WTF is wrong with you. Crime in Jackson and Hinds county should be the priority job of the sheriff. One that the past few sheriffs hasn't even given any thought about.
@9:47, the sheriff's primary responsibility is detentions and law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county. It's what the sheriff is paid to do. The Jackson police department is responsible for dealing with crime in Jackson. You are obviously clueless. All three of the past sheriff's did focus on crime in Jackson instead of detention services. That's why the detention center is in its current condition. If you want crime down in Jackson then hold accountable the DA, Judges, and JPD. The sheriff's needs to focus on fixing the problems in his own house. The job he is paid to do.
The reason the detention center is in such bad shape is too much of the money went into the pockets of politicians and their friends instead of building the center.
It has been a pile of junk from day one. It is very hard to do much when the doors of the detention center do not even lock and those that will lock can be unlocked from inside of the cells.
Everyone knows the Jackson police department is full of crooks. Has everyone forgotten how man officers have been arrested? How about all of those officers who were using their cop cars to provide protection for the shipment of drugs in Jackson?
It is very hard to tell the difference in police officers and the thugs in Jackson. The sheriff's department is not any better.
How come no one is asking why the city of Jackson isn’t paying for the housing of their inmates? Decades ago the city was required to pay for the housing of JPD arrestees. The city paid for a couple years and then stopped and there has yet to be a politician that is willing to force Jackson to again start paying for the housing of their arrestees. JPD accounts for 75%+ of the entire jail population. All other county jails make municipalities pay for the housing of inmates or the municipality can house the inmate themselves and take on the cost. Why is Hinds County not doing what everyone else does? Why are they not collecting this money so it can be used for better dententiin services, to increase the pay for dententiin guards so they can actually be competitive and hopefully find some smart and good workers?
I look at your site a lot Kingfish and I’ve never seen this question asked or brought up?
MDOC in 2012 released info that it was upwards of $52 a day to house an inmate. Even if cut in half Hinds is taking on hundreds of thousands a month in expenses that Jackson should be paying. If the SO and County told Jackson to either pay or open up their own jail like they did in the past then almost all of these problems would be solved.
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