Lieutenant Kron, jail commander with the Curry County Sheriff's Office, told the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 that the county jail completed its biannual DOC inspection and an accreditation review in a record four months and has achieved formal accreditation.

"We passed its DOC inspection with a 100% compliance," Kron said, and added that the facility met tier‑1 life-and-safety standards at 98% and tier‑2 standards at 97%, exceeding thresholds required for accreditation. He described several prior partial or noncompliant items — including documentation of probable-cause reviews that occurred after the 48‑hour mark, tool-and-material inventory practices that did not match written policy, nonstandard health-assessment forms, and a lack of third‑party medical‑record sampling — and said each had been corrected or is in the process of being fixed.

The report drew praise from commissioners. One commissioner called the staff effort “herculean” and highlighted improvements in reconditioning jail cells. Commissioners and staff also raised the possibility of seeking state funding to address the facility’s age and deferred maintenance: the board discussed a hoped‑for $1,200,000 renovation request that staff said could be included in a January capital‑request package.

Why it matters: Accreditation can affect liability and insurance evaluations, and the board linked the success to better risk management and a stronger record for future grant or state funding opportunities. Commissioners emphasized the role of maintenance personnel and jail staff in achieving the improvements.

What was said: Kron described specific fixes that led to the accreditation, including revising the service‑animal policy, standardizing nurse health‑assessment forms, adding inventory controls for kitchen tools and adding documentation to show out‑of‑cell time. "So we are now accredited as far as the jail is concerned," he said.

Next steps: Commissioners and staff said they will press for renovation funding in the upcoming legislative cycle and continue to monitor implementation of corrective actions. The board also noted the county continues to work with judges and outside parties on process changes tied to probable‑cause review timing.

The board moved on to other items after the presentation; no formal board action on capital funding was taken at the Dec. 16 meeting.