FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1997                           (202) 616-2777
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
    JAILS IN MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA TO TAKE STEPS TO REDUCE
          EXCESSIVE FORCE AND USE OF IMPROPER RESTRAINTS
               UNDER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AGREEMENT 

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Jails in Maricopa County will take steps
to ensure guards do not engage in excessive force or misuse
mechanical restraints against their prisoners, under an agreement
reached today with the Justice Department.
 
     The agreement, filed together with a civil complaint in U.S.
District Court in Phoenix, stems from a 2-year investigation into
allegations of excessive force and the misuse of mechanical
restraints by detention officers at the Maricopa County jails--
which house 7,000 inmates.

     "Today's agreement will help ensure the necessary security
needs of the Maricopa County jails, as well as the constitutional
rights of inmates," said Acting Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights Isabelle Katz Pinzler.

     The Maricopa County Sheriff, who has administrative control
of the County's jails, has agreed to take several steps designed
to decrease the possibility of incidents of excessive force and
the misuse of mechanical restraints, including:

     *    reducing the number of inmates entering the jail's
          central intake area, decreasing the amount of time
          inmates spend there, and advocating for the
          construction of a new intake facility; 

     *    improving conditions in the outdoor tents that house
          approximately 1,000 inmates; 

     *    seeking additional funds from the County to increase
          staffing in upcoming budgets; 

     *    increasing in-service training, to focus on handling of
          difficult inmates, with priority given to training of
          Madison intake officers; 

     *    prohibiting hogtying and implementing a series of
          measures to ensure that restraint chairs are not
          misused;

     *    implementing the Jail's new policy restricting the use
          of nonlethal weapons such as stun guns and pepper
          spray;

     *    continuing implementation of a Use of Force committee
          to review all allegations of use of excessive force and
          restraints;

     *    changing the Jail's grievance system to make it easier
          to file excessive force and restraints complaints, and
          changing the way in which resulting investigations are
          conducted; 

     *    monitoring allegations of excessive force and
          restraints to identify officers who may be prone to
          such problems; and,
 
     *    creating a system for Jail management to interview
          periodically inmates and staff to assess whether there
          exist use of force and restraint problems.

     "We believe this agreement fairly addresses the issues
raised by our investigation into allegations of excessive force
at the Maricopa County jails, and we welcome the Sheriff's
commitment to resolving these issues cooperatively and in good
faith," said U.S. Attorney for Arizona Janet Napolitano.

     Under the settlement, an expert will review the way in which
the Sheriff is implementing the agreement in six months.  If the
Sheriff has substantially complied with its terms, the Justice
Department will ask the court to dismiss its complaint.

     The civil complaint was filed under the Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), which was enacted in 1980
to protect the rights of people housed in state and local
governmental institutions, including county jails.  The Civil
Rights Division has launched more than 250 investigations into
such institutions since its enactment.

     An investigation continues into allegations of deficient
medical and mental health care at the facilities.
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97-451