The purpose of town hall meetings are to initiate an open dialogue with the inmates housed in custody facilities and ensure that there are adequate avenues for constructive inmate-staff communication. The goal is to enhance the inmates’ quality of life, while ensuring institutional and public safety. Town hall meetings are in addition to informal communications (and the formal inmate grievance process) that staff are expected to have with inmates to facilitate an open dialogue. Inmate Request/Complaint Forms shall be available, upon request, during all town hall meetings.
It is the responsibility of each custody facility unit commander (or their designee) to facilitate town hall meetings at their respective facility. Every facility is required to conduct a town hall meeting for each housing area at least once per month.
It is the unit commander’s responsibility to ensure that town hall meeting forms are completed in a reasonable amount of time, but no more than seven (7) days. The forms include, but are not limited to, the Town Hall Meeting Form and the Town Hall Tracker.
Issues derived from town hall meetings shall be entered into the Town Hall Meeting Tracker and addressed within seven days from the date of the meeting.
In the event inmates in a specific housing area elect not to attend a town hall meeting, this shall be documented in the Town Hall Tracker.
In an effort to ensure all inmates are afforded the opportunity to participate in a town hall meeting, the unit commander (or their designee) shall monitor the housing locations.