Treat a man like an animal and he’ll act like one. That’s a core premise of Doug Burris, the city’s interim commissioner of corrections. Burris also believes the inverse—that respect breeds respect—and that’s why he invites me into his office at the City Justice Center at midday on May 6. He’s minutes away from proposing to detainees that they help create an “honor dorm,” a pod inside the jail where good behavior brings extra privileges. “It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out,” says Burris, clutching a legal pad and a typed-out speech.
By his count, about half the jail’s residents are facing charges of “assaultive” crimes or murder. Roughly a quarter have been prescribed a serious psychiatric medication. Multiple disturbances—some involving fires and busted windows—have erupted there over the last several years, and members of an appointed oversight board have complained of a lack of transparency.
When the previous director, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, went on leave last year, Burris was a retiree, having run the St. Louis County jail and the federal probation office downtown. But he agreed to conduct a review of the CJC for the city. In January, he issued a report finding a “dire” need for more correctional officers; the ones who did work there were regularly “overwhelmed,” and some lacked professionalism, Burris wrote. As for the detainees, they complained about being confined too long inside their cells and having nothing to do with their time…