Pictures depict filthy conditions in jail

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A disgusting discovery has been made at a South Florida jail.

Pictures purport to show inmates living in filth at the Dade County Jail in West Miami Dade. But they inmates are not the ones complaining. Instead, corrections employees released the pictures in fear of their own well-being.

Several years ago, the Department of Justice, visited the jail and looked into conditions there. "It's very inhumane," said a corrections officer at the jail who preferred to remain anonymous, "the dust, insects, backed up urinals."

He said the jail has deteriorated to the point where it is simply, from a health perspective, an unsafe environment. "It's very dangerous because we have families that we come home to, and anything that's airborne, we'll of course bring it home, and we have kids and families."

The corrections officers complained of:

-Roaches
-Malfunctioning sewer drains
-Malfunctioning screening areas
-Improper medical screening areas
-Overcrowded medical cells
-Poor ventilation
-Mold
-Leaky pipes

In August of 2011, the DOJ concluded a three-year report that indicated concerns with the conditions at the jail.

John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade County Police Benevolent Association, agrees something needs to be done. "So what happens is the inmates, the officers, the nurses, that all work there will be coming out to the streets on a daily basis or once they're released," he said. "They have all kinds of infections and diseases that were born there, they're gonna bring it out to the public."

The County was contacted for comment, but they have so far not issued a response.

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