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A Multnomah County grand jury today released a report outlining the impacts of widespread short staffing at county jails, where an unprecedented seven inmates have died over the last year.
Staffing shortages have resulted in frequent lockdowns, upended courthouse schedules and made mandatory overtime “a regular occurrence,” the jurors wrote.
Together, the cascading problems have put “the staffing crisis in a vicious cycle,” they added. Mandatory overtime scares off new recruits, and “creates a compounding cycle, leaving the correctional facilities perpetually short-staffed.”
The report is the culmination of 100 hours of work by seven jurors selected by the court, and provides further confirmation of WW’s recent reporting about growing problems inside the county’s jails. State law requires the annual review of all correctional facilities by a correctional grand jury.
In response to the report, Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell says she’s working to fix staffing and other issues at the jails. “Managing correctional operations is challenging work in the best of circumstances,” she said in a statement.
The jurors note several other likely causes for the jail’s staffing issues. MCSO has no “employee retention program,” they say, and a new diversity, equity, and inclusion program has sputtered. The director of the DEI program resigned this year, “citing concerns about workplace culture at MCSO,” saying she faced “intimidation and threats.”
The report also highlights problems in the downtown maximum-security jail’s mental health unit, which has only 10 beds and, according to jurors, not enough staff. As a result, many mentally ill inmates are housed “in a different unit which is not designed for their level of mental health needs.”
Three inmates committed suicide while in county jails this year alone. Two overdosed on fentanyl. The jurors note that the drug “continues to be a growing concern” despite new efforts to limit smuggling, including new scanners and strip searches.
Another problem: the downtown Multnomah County Detention Center is two decades past its 20-year life expectancy. In fact, during the jurors’ visit, the elevator broke. Staff said this was common and explained they were hesitant to use it. “MCDC’s facility was not designed to meet today’s high needs when it comes to acute mental health issues and complex physical health concerns,” the jurors wrote, recommending the county begin the process of replacing the facility.
The jury also urged MCSO to study its staffing needs, perform an independent audit of overtime expenses and “look for creative and innovative solutions to the ongoing staffing shortages.”