The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) fails to protect female inmates from prying eyes at the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) by housing them in disciplinary units with male inmates and failing to block cell windows when the women get out of their cells to walk, make phone calls, and shower. I found this out when housed in unit 4E a couple years ago. While a woman was out of her cell a deputy partially covered my window with a sliding metal door like thing. Some time later I walked up to my door and noticed a big space that anyone could use to look down the hall while a woman is out there and some cells can even see the shower. Fortunately for the women I did time with, I did not lurk by my door hoping to get a glimpse because I am not a weirdo.
How obvious is this space in the window? Well, it is about an inch wide and at least a foot high, so anyone standing near the door of their cell for any reason will notice the bright light from the hall shining in. As a result a great opportunity exists for sex offenders to pass the time by gunning down the women. I say "gunning down" because in prison there is a huge problem with guys called "gunners" that jack off when female staff members are in the unit. At Victorville USP the whites did not tolerate them, so if a white guy got caught gunning he would get beat up and put in protective custody, but other races (especially the blacks) tolerated them, and even if disciplined, the gunners could still gun down female staff in the hole while in protective custody. At least in prison the female staff have a choice and choose to work there. Female COs are kind of like prostitutes in that way because they view being the sexual entertainment of men as just part of the job. The female inmates on the other hand are not all prostitutes, but at MCDC they have no choice.
I informed Deputy Garrick of the problem and told him that if I were a weirdo I could pass my time staring at the girls like a peeping Tom. He said "are you a peeping Tom?" I said "no" and he asked "then why does it matter?" Then as he left I answered "what if the next guy you put in here is a weirdo?"