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Under further review, the review needs work Mail Tribune / Jim Craven An inmate makes a phone call in the Jackson County Jail on Tuesday. A county grand jury recently issued a report on the jail and other county-run correctional facilities, finding no significant problems with any of the detention centers. A Jackson County grand jury charged with evaluating correctional operations investigated the process itself By JILL BRISKEY In July, the Jackson County District Attorney's Office impaneled a group of seven local men and women and instructed them to tour the jail, Talent work center and juvenile detention facility. The group was given a questionnaire to fill out and a few instructions - look for rats and make sure everything smells OK. The grand jury, however, never smelled a rat. Nor did they uncover any improprieties at the county facilities. Instead, the seven randomly selected jurors discovered what they felt were problems with the review process itself and set out to change the rules, or rather define them. Oregon law requires that a grand jury convene once a year and "inquire" into the condition and management of each correctional facility. District Attorney Mark Huddleston said in the past, Jackson County grand juries would conduct the tours, eat lunch at a county institution and complete a questionnaire that rated their findings. "That's been the way it's done for years," Huddleston added. This year, however, the grand jury decided to take their job to heart. "(In these facilities) things can be abusive and bad things can happen," said the grand jury foreman, a man who lives in Jacksonville. "Therefore, let's make sure horrible things don't start to happen here." Members of the grand jury who were interviewed for this story asked not to be identified. The 2001 grand jury took it upon themselves to interview witnesses. The members took testimony, drafted a detailed report and made several suggestions that were forwarded to each department. "We felt we had a responsibility," said a Talent man who served on the jury. "There's more to this than just a tour." According to one grand juror, the group decided the old system wasn't good enough after a meeting that included some "soul searching." "We were just left in the dark about what our real job was," said one grand juror, a woman who lives in Central Point. "We wanted to do something. No other grand jury had done this before." The jury foreman said he began research using the Internet and discovered Multnomah County officials had a system in place for the grand jury's yearly inspection of correctional facilities. Working with the district attorney's office, Jackson County adopted a similar system for future inquiries after the jury completed its report. Huddleston said past inspections satisfied Oregon law since, "the statute is silent as to the extent and manner of the inquiry." The report showed that the grand jury did not find any major problems with the jail or other facilities. "I think the grand jury felt the systems were working well," Huddleston said. "I think in general it was a good report." The grand jury has no power to enforce or carry out their suggestions. Many suggestions weren't possible due to budgetary concerns, the jury foreman said. Others were already in place or were being implemented. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.