Page 14 - 2020 Annual report

Major Timothy Kortes

The mission of the Cumberland County Jail is to provide a
healthy, safe, secure and humane environment for all inmates
whether they have been accused or convicted of crimes. The
Cumberland County Jail is the largest county jail in the state of
Maine and processed approximately 4,309 arrestees in 2020.
Our average daily population in 2020 was 340 inmates per day.
The current trend across the Country is a decrease of 25 percent

through diversion efforts coordinated through the court system.

It has been a cha
It has been a challenging year at the Cumberland County Jail with the current pandemic. The temporary proactive
safeguards imple

safeguards implemented at the Jail have protected and limited the exposure to staff and offenders. In addition,
we are vigilant in improving our efforts on a daily basis with updated guidance from the CDC and other venues.
we are vigilant in
Back in November, we had a quality assurance inspection conducted by an auditor from the Maine Department
Back in Novemb

of Corrections which confirmed we were adhering to the best practices for COVID precautions through screening
of Corrections w

and universal precautions. In addition, Sheriff Joyce was instrumental in the acquisition of the Abbott Rapid
and universal pre
Testing equipment that was used on site and to provide another layer of protection. In addition, we established
Testing equipme
a Quarantine housing unit for new admissions to properly medically clear offenders to be housed in general
a Quarantine hou

population. A COVID response focus team was established to provide a point of contact that was headed
population. A CO
by Captain Don
by Captain Don Goulet. Captain Goulet has provided a mechanism in place to conduct proper follow-up on
incidents and open communication with all stakeholders to ensure all aspects are fulfilled. In regards to facility
incidents and op
cleanliness during the pandemic, Captain John Costello has worked closely with staff and vendors to maintain
cleanliness durin
a high level of cl
a high level of cleaning and decontamination efforts. The Jail access and lobby operations have been limited
and

to only staff
to only staff and approved vendors to provide essential functions that are vetted through a COVID screening
process. Operationally, we have utilized outside the norm solutions in regards to virtual communication with
process. Operati
video for judicia
video for judicial proceedings and limiting offender outside exposure. Back in June, the offender tablet program
was implemented to improve communication with family and friends through real time e-messaging to include
was implemente
pictures and videos. In addition, this component also provides distant learning options until we can return to
pictures and vide
normal operation
normal operations to allow outside volunteers and visitors back in the Jail safely. The vaccinations for staff and
off enders should
offenders should be completed in the near future for individuals that request one.

In regards to accreditation, the audit for NCCHC (National Commission on Correctional Healthcare) was
In regards to acc
completed this p
completed this past November and there was a successful outcome to maintain the re-accreditation status for the
Jail medical health care with the assistance of our vendor Armor Medical Health Services. The Jail is preparing
Jail medical heal
for its upcoming PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) scheduled in April 2021. We continue to maintain our
for its upcoming

PREA complian
PREA compliance by continuing to reevaluate and implement best practices from the field. The Cumberland

County Sheriff’s Office has always had a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

County Sheriff ’s

Offender programming for this past year has been limited for outside involvement and virtual communication

Off ender program
has been implem
has been implemented for a temporary substitution. The CCC (Community Corrections Center) Pre-release was
closed temporarily and the work release program was suspended, due to offender COVID exposure concerns

closed temporari

in the communit
in the community. All in-person offender education classes continued this past year with social distancing and
precautions in pl
precautions in place that was instructed by our in house Education Technician staff. Back in December, the MAT
(Medically Assisted Treatment) Coordinator Jessica Verdejo was hired to oversee the program within the facility
(Medically Assis
in response to the current opiate crisis. She has made great strides with offender engagement and treatment in

in response to th
a short time. Currently, we are in the planning stages of reopening the Jail for outside volunteers and visitors.
a short time. Cur
Another Re-Entr
Another Re-Entry specialist position has been secured through grant funding for the next three years to provide
offender assistance in the successful transition into society. All community outreach programs were suspended
off ender assistan

for 2020 and we
for 2020 and we hope to restart in 2021 in stages.
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The Jail is twent e to address tth
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The Jail is twenty-seven years old and we continue to address the replacement of equipment and updating areas of
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1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 . the facility over the next few years.
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the facility over