EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office gave a tour of the Downtown Dentention Facility on Tuesday morning, April 1.
This comes after three in-custody deaths this year, according to the invite sent out to media.
Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said when inmates are booked, they are classified into minimum, medium or maximum custody, indicated by the color of their uniform. The inmate’s criminal history, current charges and behavior are reviewed to determine their classification, he added.
Ugarte explained that inmates will then be housed in either general population or in what officials call administrative segregation, but regardless of where they are housed, detention officers are required to conduct regular face-to-face checks on every inmate.
“We have a 15-minute check. We have a 30-minute check, and then we have an one-hour check,” Ugarte said.
Even with such guidelines, Ugarte says it’s important for inmates to communicate their struggles, to determine how often they need to be checked.
“The safety checks in this facility, it depends on the classification. That’s why it’s very important when somebody is incarcerated, to be truthful with the officers, with the medical staff, with the mental health (staff) depending on, in the process, we’ll classify you,” he said.
Ugarte said that his administration is working on adding more upgrades to the Downtown facility that will help keep a closer eye on the inmates.
“The housing areas right now, there is no video cameras. So if there’s something that happens inside a housing area, this facility is not equipped with video cameras. We only have cameras in the hallways. That’s something that we’re adding with a remodel right now,” Ugarte said.
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