The in-custody death of someone being held for a crime is nothing new to the Clallam County jail in Port Angeles.
In 2001, it happened twice.
But since then, the jail has taken steps toward improving safety and security at the facility, and no other inmates have died, Sheriff Joe Martin said.
“We’re working smarter and better than we have in the past — and safer,” he said this week.
Some of the changes the jail has done may be things the county’s youth detention center implements in the wake of last week’s apparent suicide of a 17-year-old boy being held there.
Clallam County Juvenile and Family Services Director Pete Peterson said the adult jail’s main addition — an electronic system for recording cell checks — is something that has been considered for the youth center in the past, and something that will be brought to the table again.
Peterson is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the teenager’s death.
‘Pipe’ device used
At the Clallam County jail, corrections officers now use “The Pipe” — a 6-inch-long, black, pipe-shaped device that is inserted into mounted checkpoints at each cell to record which officer is monitoring the cell and when.
It saves time and improves accuracy, Martin said.
“The purpose of The Pipe is to give us very accurate information, which it does,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Department added the $3,000 system to the jail about a year ago as part of improvements stemming from the two suicides.