Lt. McGregor and Sgt. Ramsey of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office led a group of fourteen NAMI North Central Florida members and friends on a tour of the mental illness pods at the Alachua County Jail on March 21. The tour was arranged by Capt. Jeffery R. Cloutier of the Security Operations Division. This was an opportunity for us to find out more about how people with a serious and persistent mental illness interface with the criminal justice system. It also offered an opportunity for us, as NAMI and family members, to expand our relationship with the people who make that system what it is.

Our closely escorted group was granted liberal access to both the male and female pods. Based on our one hour tour and talks with jail personnel, it appeared that the jail staff is truly concerned about the welfare of incarcerated persons with a mental illness. Indeed they vocally shunned the old stereotype of the "jailer bossman", and seemed to be proud to "help" serve the special situation of inmates that are mentally ill. Nonetheless, it was apparent from the physical layout and security personnel behavior that incarceration and isolation from the public was their primary job. Our group was surprised that the mental health pod is a special unit that is physically separated from the other inmates in the jail. The jail staff in this pod are permanently assigned, so they interact closely with each inmate on a daily basis, knowing their individual personalities and medical conditions. We ran into a jail mental health provider who told us that each inmate in the pod had a "treatment plan" (although we did not get a sense of the extent or appropriateness of such plans). Mental health screening and services are contracted locally through Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. Meridian also works closely with the courts the Mental Health Court Project. This allows for non-violent, cooperative inmates release under the condition of participating in Meridian’s community mental health program.

We walked around in the open common area that doubles as the dining area--the staff "locked down" the inmates in their rooms during our tour of the pod, and then opened their doors as soon as we left. Inmates are encouraged to use the gym/basketball court of the mental health pod, which is separate from the gym serving the rest of the jail. This gym is open to the outdoor sky, although it is covered by bars. Overall the facilities were very clean and bright. The cells are adequate in size--they could be described as spartan concrete block dorm rooms with locked heavy doors equipped with large plexiglass windows facing the common area. It looked like the jail personnel have ready visual access to the inside of the rooms/cells as well as the common area. There were no clanging barred barriers within the pod. The mental health pods (male and female) were not overly crowded the particular night we visited; inmates were assigned to individual rooms with two per room. However, the standard pods were very crowded, with extra cots set up in their common area in order to handle bedding arrangements. Presumably this pattern of crowded bedding would also occur in the mental health pod, either periodically or on a continual basis. Such a setting would jeopardize the "treatment" of many of the mental illnesses.

NAMI as an organization is concerned that the jail system in America has become the de facto largest mental health provider in communities. The Alachua County Jail is not an exception to this trend, and Lt. McGregor was openly concerned about this. We were pleased to learn that several jail personnel have taken the new CIT course (Crisis Intervention Team), and even more pleased to hear that additional jail personnel are planning to enroll in the next course this fall.