The safety of Denver jail inmates and deputies is jeopardized because of problems at almost every level of the Denver Sheriff Department, a report produced by two consultants says.
The long-awaited report, which will be released Thursday, offers a sweeping — and sometimes scathing — look at the department. Its recommendations range from changing the culture to changing the style of underwear issued to inmates.
The leadership deficit is so deep that consultants advise city officials to go outside the department to hire a new sheriff, according to the report, which was obtained by The Denver Post prior to its official release.
DOCUMENT: Read the full report on the Denver Sheriff Department
The report, produced by Hillard Heintze of Chicago and OIR Group of Los Angeles for $295,000, delivers 14 key findings and 277 recommendations for change.
Mayor Michael Hancock ordered the review in the summer of 2014 after a string of excessive-force cases shamed the department and cost the city more than $9 million in legal settlements and lawyers’ fees.
Hancock said the consultants produced the type of report he was looking for, one that laid out everything.
“They validated our concerns,” he said.
City leaders already knew the sheriff’s department was troubled, but the report delves into every function at the department, revealing deficiencies at every level.
“Yes, there are things that were a surprise to me,” said Stephanie O’Malley, executive director of the Denver Department of Public Safety. “As I continue to read and as I continue to digest and process all of this information, I continue to think to myself that these are things that can and will be fixed.”
In several instances, the deficiencies are glaring.
For example, the department does not have a method for counting inmates and keeping track of who is in court or at a hospital, and it does not account for gang affiliation when assigning inmates to cells, the report said.
Inadequate oversight
There is no single, comprehensive plan for emergencies, and drills for controlling disasters are held rarely.
The department cannot readily say how many deputy positions it has and the number of full-time equivalent employees it needs to fill them, Hillard Heintze found in its review.
And the department’s use-of-force investigations are “wholly inadequate” because supervisors make decisions on whether force is justified based only on the involved deputy’s account of the incident. They do not interview inmates and other witnesses or review video footage, the OIR Group wrote.
Consultants found excessive amounts of contraband during the review of the two jails. Inmates had heroin, homemade hooch and inappropriate photographs.
“One reason is that employees are not searched upon their arrival each day — and they could be a primary source of unauthorized items,” the report said.
The consultants found other contributing factors to the contraband problem, including inconsistent cell searches and a failure to track tools or other equipment that inmates might have had access to during the day.
Nonexistent, out-of-date and incomplete policies are a theme throughout the report. Training from supervisors is almost nonexistent, the report said. The consultants found multiple examples of instances where deputies did not know what was written in the department handbooks.
For example, deputies are required to make routine rounds within their pods to check for contraband, maintain order, count inmates and look for medical emergencies.
However, the department’s orders, division policies and procedures are inconsistent, Hillard Heintze found.
“Staff members of all levels do not have a clear understanding of the requirements to conduct such checks,” the report said.
One inmate told consultants that he had spent 20 days drawing graffiti on his cell wall. No deputy had ordered it to be cleaned up, and that is something that should be handled while making rounds, the report said.
The consultants found an often-dysfunctional relationship between front-line deputies and the command staff that oversees them.
For example, some command staff members said they had tried to take corrective action toward employees only to find themselves the subjects of harassment investigations within the internal affairs bureau. As a result, they would be barred from contact with the deputy, so the problem was never addressed.
The report also calls for a complete overhaul of the department’s culture. Deputies need to consider themselves “guardians” rather than “warriors,” the report said.
It could take years for all of the changes to be made.
Some will be expensive, such as replacing the entire computer system for managing the jail and hiring a civilian IT director to oversee it.
Some changes will be met with resistance.
“There are going to be occasions where all the minds are not going to meet,” O’Malley said.
Jail 101: Back to basics
Hillard Heintze recommends changing the shift schedules at both jails so that they are consistent with each other and better suited to meet staffing needs.
However, schedule changes almost always lead to unhappiness at a workplace. Police Chief Robert White met resistance from the rank-and-file when he changed the work week for his officers.
There is hope for the department, consultants found.
The OIR Group wrote that employees at every level were open to reform and willing to respond to public criticism. Its consultants often are greeted with skepticism and worry when they begin a review.
“In Denver, however, we did not see this same fear, but rather hope for meaningful change,” the report said.
O’Malley said her next step will be drawing up a plan on how to implement the changes and hiring a new sheriff who is capable of carrying it out. The two consulting groups will be used to recruit candidates, she said.
“The need is for a new sheriff who is a change agent,” O’Malley said. “One that can amend the culture and change expectations.”
Some problems already are receiving immediate attention, interim Sheriff Elias Diggins said.
For example, he already has instructed deputies to stop moving inmates from place to place while a count is underway.
“It’s obviously something we take seriously,” Diggins said. “We know where the inmates are, but it’s putting into practice that when those counts occur inmate movement stops.”
And, deputies are being sent to in-service training to learn how to write reports to law enforcement standards, he said.
“Some of these things are what I would call Jail 101,” Diggins said. “They are things we should be doing and we can do and we will do.
“We’ve got to get back to the basics of running a sound operation.”
The mayor and O’Malley will be responsible for overseeing changes and informing the public of steps being taken. And Nick Mitchell, the independent monitor, pledged to assist with changes as well as assess the progress.
Hancock said the search for a new sheriff will begin immediately, and he will announce Thursday plans for a implementation team that will set short, medium and long-range priorities.
The report advised officials to continue a dialogue with the community, and O’Malley said she plans to provide regular updates.
“We have to be honest in setting expectations for getting at these things,” she said. “The public is expecting it, and I support them in that we do something fairly quickly on issues that cast a dark light on the Denver Sheriff Department.”
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
Five surprising findings from the report
1. Deputies are not searched when they come to work.
2. The department is not able to accurately count inmates.
3. Gang affiliations are not considered when assigning inmates to a pod.
4. The entire IT system is outdated and unorganized.
5. Sergeants justify their deputies’ use-of-force incidents without interviewing inmates and other witnesses or looking at video footage.
What’s recommended
The consultants listed 14 key findings in their report on the Denver Sheriff Department:
