Page 14 - 2020 Annual report
P. 14

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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