Is it important for locks in a jail to work? (Richmond Va.)

[underpants]

I post this here because GD is nothing but DSM today -as it should be

BTW- on Tuesday 97 degrees in the River city (population ~200,000) 95 Wednesday. Did I mention that there is no air conditioning in the jail?

Richmond Sheriff Michelle Mitchell might be able to procure more locks if she didn't take a month of vacation AND pay herself for another month every year. As per the city charter she basically gets paid for 14 months every year.

Anyway back to the main subject.

Broken locks in the city jail
Sheriff estimates 20% of cells for 'high-custody' inmates won't lock; deputies say number may be higher

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783108503

Sexual-battery suspect Gregory G. "Grasshopper" Robinson was supposed to be in a secure cell on a secure floor in the Richmond City Jail.

But less than 24 hours after arriving at the sprawling, crowded complex, the slightly built 47-year-old was fatally beaten in the head and face. He was repeatedly kicked and punched, police said, by the 19-year-old son of the woman he had been charged with attacking earlier in the Memorial Day weekend.

Young's cell door did not lock. Neither did Robinson's.

According to Mitchell, up to 20 of the jail's 98 cells reserved for "high-custody" felony inmates do not lock. High-custody cells are traditionally reserved for the most violent people in the jail, charged with the most serious offenses, and inmates deemed to be a threat or in need of protection.

"We've had a history of locking devices malfunctioning," said Mitchell, noting that many of the locks are the originals put on the cells when the jail was opened in 1962.

"For one thing, they're old," she said. "Second, they don't make those devices anymore, and when they break down, we have to fix them in-house and have to match parts. When you do that, you compromise the integrity of the lock."


"We've spent close to $15,000 to replace 24 locking devices, and now some of those are broken," Mitchell said.