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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
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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)

Open Forms in Acrobat Reader

310:670-5-11. Physical plant
(b) New facilities and substantial remodeling of facilities (after January 1, 1992). Plans for the construction of a new facility or the substantial remodeling of an existing facility shall be submitted to the Department for review and approval. Detention facilities are encouraged to submit plans to the Department for any re-modeling or repair that does not meet the substantial remodeling threshold to ensure standards are met.

Listed are the steps in the construction process:

  1. Submit COMPLETE SET OF SIGNED AND SEALED PLANS to OSDH for approval. Contact OSDH Detention Program and a BOX account will be created for the submittal of the electronic copy of the plans.
  2. Provide documentation denoting plans were submitted to the State Fire Marshal and the plans have been approved.
  3. Provide documentation the State Fire Marshal’s 50% inspection is completed, and we will complete a 50% inspection.
  4. Our Department will conduct a Final Inspection and Capacity Rating after the receipt of the State Fire Marshal’s Final Inspection and Approval report.

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