Willamette Week

Sheriffs Inspect Each Other’s Jails. They Found Nothing Amiss in Portland.

March 13, 2024
"The delegation of monitoring to county sheriffs means Oregon’s inspections are 'not sufficiently arm’s length,' Deitch says."
KERA News

Tarrant County paid $37,500 to recruit new detention officers. Three got hired, jail chief says

March 12, 2024
“That idleness leads to violence. It leads to tension,” Deitch said. “And it also means they're not getting access to their programs and services, which could affect their likelihood of successful rehabilitation."
BOLTS

“We’re Going to Be Overwhelmed”: How Louisiana Just Ballooned Its Jail Population

March 8, 2024
"While [Louisiana] has a set of “basic jail guidelines” that apply to facilities that house state prisoners, a 2023 report by the University of Texas at Austin’s Prison and Jail Innovation Lab found that they fell short compared to regional counterparts like Texas and Florida."
C-SPAN

Michele Deitch on the U.S. Prison System

March 2, 2024
University of Texas at Austin Prison and Jail Innovation Lab Director Michele Deitch discussed the state of the U.S. prison system.
The words "The Baltimore Banner" in white text, black background

System failure: How a man killed himself on suicide watch in the Harford County jail

Feb. 15, 2024
"Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer at the University of Texas who specializes in correctional oversight and deaths in custody, said that changing a medical provider would likely leave in place much of the jail’s screening process. It would not affect other contributing factors such as the layout of the facility and housing decisions, she added. 'Suicide prevention is not a function of just one part of an agency,' Deitch said. 'It requires systemic changes.'”
12 News

Hospitalizations and HVAC repairs: The cost of extreme heat in Arizona’s women’s prison

Jan. 26, 2024
“'It's unfortunately becoming commonplace in a lot of particularly southern states and Texas where I live,' said Michele Deitch, who leads the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. 'I'm not surprised by it. But I'm still horrified that anybody should be asked to live in those kinds of conditions.'”
Image of Houston Chronicle's logo.

Harris County Jail may be first in state to require body cameras

Jan. 25, 2024
Michele Deitch cited a September research brief from the CNA Corp that found that body cameras were somewhat effective in reducing use of force rates at jails.
New Jersey Monitor

County jail conditions — ‘hazardous even to a dog’ — spur calls for independent oversight

Jan. 22, 2024
“'Conditions inside these facilities are, in many places, very, very problematic,' Deitch said. 'These are places that have total control over the lives and wellbeing of people inside. You need transparency and routine monitoring of conditions, in order to ensure people’s safety.'”
Mississippi Today

Who Investigates the Sheriff? In Mississippi, Often No One.

Dec. 28, 2023
“'There is no transparency for what happens inside these local jails, and we know that abuse thrives in dark places,' said Michele Deitch, the director of a center at the University of Texas at Austin that studies jail oversight and operations."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FROM THE INSIDE: Criminal Kingpins

Dec. 28, 2023
“'Georgia’s prison system is not accomplishing a goal of public safety because people are still committing crimes both while they’re incarcerated and after they get out,' Deitch said. 'It is clearly not serving to rehabilitate people, if incarcerated people are still involved in these kinds of criminal behavior. There is no meaningful incapacitation if they still have the ability to be involved in criminal activities while they are locked up. And no one appears to be deterred from criminal behavior just because they are incarcerated. The public is getting nothing for its money, except a worse outcome.'”