Vernon County Sheriff's Office response to COVID-19

According to a release from the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, the office "has continued to update its procedures regarding its handling of calls for service, food service and inmates based on recommendations from the State and Federal Government regarding the COVID-19 virus. Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher said he is attending regular state and local meetings with officials on a regular basis regarding the virus."

Mosher explained some of the changes on Monday that he has taken regarding how the jail, patrol, dispatch and admin staff are functioning. “We put a lot of these changes in place nearly a month ago that include medical screening of inmates brought into our jail, responding to how we responded to calls and the cleaning within the building” said Mosher. The cleaning schedule was tripled for jail staff and admin staff that includes spraying down all surfaces, door handles, phones and kiosks within the jail frequently with disinfectants. Other changes that have been made on a temporary basis include:

• Patrol staff using PPE equipment when responding to calls for service

• Kitchen staff in the jail using PPE equipment when preparing meals • Suspension of on-site jail visitation (video visitation and phone calls still take place)

• Working with the courts to provide video court so the criminal justice system can continue to operate.

• Adding virus screening questionnaire to the dispatch process to better help protect first responders as well as screening people who enter the building.

Mosher said inmates in the jail are being monitored by medical staff and as of Monday have not had any inmates that require testing. Each separate area of the jail has its own air systems which will help reduce any cross contamination within the jail. Mosher said the Sheriff’s Office will continue to monitor the situation and make changes as needed.