CINCINNATI — Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey spoke to the county commission during a public meeting Tuesday to address concerns about whether the jail and deputies on patrol are safe.
McGuffey took the floor before Hamilton County commissioners to present updated information and statistics on the efforts she said the sheriff's department have made since her election to the position in 2020.
Specifically, she addressed staffing within the sheriff's department and safety efforts she said have been made in the Hamilton County Justice Center.
"We're getting the cell locks and the windows issue addressed," said McGuffey.
McGuffey told commissioners changes were needed to improve the justice center, since the building has largely gone unaltered since it opened — and began running 24/7 — in 1985.
In 2020, the elevators in the jail broke down repeatedly. The unreliable elevators caused disruptions for family members hoping to visit loved ones incarcerated within the jail, since visitation was suspended each time the elevators needed repairing.
Those elevators have since been completely replaced and modernized, McGuffey said.
Inmates at the jail were using tablets that McGuffey said were doled out during the previous administration, under former sheriff Jim Neil. Then, in 2022, male inmates began disassembling those tablets, using the device's battery to burn holes in windows in the jail.
After repeated damage, McGuffey said she permanently revoked the tablets from all male inmates; female inmates are still permitted to use them, because they did not abuse the privileges of having them, she added.
In all, McGuffey said 132 damaged windows within the Hamilton County Justice Center have been replaced. Only five in need of replacing remain.
She also highlighted efforts to paint, renovate offices and upgrade technology within the jail to bring the facility up to speed and provide a safe, encouraging work environment for corrections officers working inside.
Broken cell door locks are still a battle the department continues to fight, McGuffey said. Inmates use cardboard or other items to manipulate the locks, which often breaks them, but fixing that is no small feat, she said.
All of the locks need replacing, and some cells need full door replacements, which come at a high cost, said McGuffey.
The Hamilton County commissioners are scheduled to vote on funding for that effort Thursday, though commissioners verbally agreed at Tuesday's meeting that over $4 million in funding for those repairs would be approved when the vote happens.
As to staffing, McGuffey said the department has come a long way through the aid provided by both budgeted projects and grant awards. Incentives are being offered to prospective officers in the form of retention and referral bonuses and tuition-free academy access for officers who stay with the department.
Staffing shortages in law enforcement is an issue plaguing departments nationwide, McGuffey pointed out, adding she's optimistic about the way things are beginning to shift in Cincinnati.
"We will become one of the agencies who buck the trend and get enough staff, not just for our jail, but patrol and court services," said McGuffey.
The jail currently has the budget to staff 308 corrections officers. While they actually only employ 233 full time officers in that role, McGuffey said incentives and work with the local unions are paying off.
McGuffey told commissioners that since June her department has received 127 applications for corrections officer positions, and 70 of those are already in the pipeline, going through interviews and background checks.
"Recruitment and retention is our highest priority, it has to be," said McGuffey. "It's our number one focus right now."
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