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Jails

The laws of the State of Oklahoma required the Oklahoma State Department of Health to develop standards for detention facility operation and monitor detention facility compliance with those standards. Based on Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes at Section 192, the Department is required to inspect all city and county detention facilities at least once each year to ensure they follow the standards. The standards adopted based on the law address the following areas:

  • admission & release procedures
  • security measures
  • sanitary conditions
  • diet
  • clothing & living area
  • detention facility staff training
  • safety and segregation of women, the infirm, and minors
  • medical care
  • twenty-four hour supervision
  • emergency exits
  • inmate education of facility rules
  • holding facilities for the incarceration of persons no longer than twelve (12) hours
     

Based on Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes at Section 193, inspectors employed by the Department are authorized by law to enter all detention facility premises and administrative offices to perform their duties. The results of the Department's inspections are provided in a written report to the Commissioner of Health and to the person immediately responsible for the administration of the facility. The report contains:

  1. a list of deficiencies in the condition or operation of the facility and specific proposals for their solution; and
  2. a statement as to whether or not the facility inspected is in substantial compliance with the detention facility standards.

If the deficiencies listed in the report have not been corrected within sixty (60) days after delivery of the report, the Commissioner of Health is authorized to file a complaint with the Attorney General or the district attorney. The timing of a revisit is dependent on the nature and severity of the deficiencies identified, pending workload, and resources. The Commissioner of Health will extend the time for compliance by reasonable period before filing the complaint based on a good faith effort by the governmental entity involved to correct the deficiencies.

   Follow this link for instructions in making a complaint

  • JID2016-06 Detention Facility Standards Clarification & Updates on Holding Facilities (09-14-2016)
  • JID2018-01 Suspend Detention Facility Testing (09-2019)

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Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Detention Program
123 Robert S. Kerr. Ave., Suite 1702
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-6406

Physical Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
Detention Program
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

Phone: (405) 426-8170
Fax: (405) 900-7575
Email: jails@health.ok.gov

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Mailing Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave., Suite 1702
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-6406

 

Physical Address:
Oklahoma State Department of Health
123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK

 

Office hours:
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., CST, Monday through Friday
Closed on all state holidays

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