A Los Angeles County jail has ended a controversial policy known as “potty watch”, whereby inmates were chained to a wall, often for several hours, as officers waited for them to expel illicit contraband from their bodies.
A report by the Los Angeles Times cited one case in which an inmate was kept cuffed to the wall in his underwear for as long as 11 hours. Another inmate, restrained in the same way for eight or nine hours, suffered pain and bleeding wrists.
At least two dozen inmates were subjected to this routine at North County Correctional Facility (NCCF), a maximum-security jail some 40 miles north of Los Angeles. “Potty watch”, which corrections experts say is inhumane, was until recently a required practice at NCCF.
When the LA County Sheriff’s Department discovered the policy during a routine audit in February, they issued a new policy saying inmates’ hands can be cuffed to their waists – as recommended by experts – but not to a wall or any other fixed object.
Of 24 cases referred to the LA district attorney’s office for potential prosecution, just one has so far led to criminal charges. In September a sheriff's deputy and two sergeants were charged with cruel and unusual punishment for cuffing to the wall an inmate suspected of hiding a note in his rectum.
“Potty watch” is said to be a common issue at jails and prisons, where inmates often attempt to smuggle in illicit items including drugs and weapons by hiding them in their own body cavities.
