The Ventura County Grand Jury found local jails and other detention facilities in generally good order, but noted some exceptions in a report issued last week.
As required by state law, the civilian panel annually inspects detention facilities. The report covered conditions at the main jail in Ventura, the Todd Road Jail near Santa Paula, the east county jail in Thousand Oaks, two juvenile facilities and nine temporary holding facilities.
Jurors said they were concerned about the condition of the police station and funding for police officers in Santa Paula, a city that has a relatively low tax base.
The jurors also found that health and fire inspections were overdue for police stations in Santa Paula and Simi Valley, the camera system at the Moorpark Police Station should be repaired, and the area containing holding cells at the Oxnard Police Department needed to be cleaned more thoroughly.
They recommended that an annual assessment of mental health issues be prepared along with one on the effects of Proposition 47, a state initiative that reduced seven minor felonies to misdemeanors. Jurors also wanted to upgrade the visibility of youth held in a padded safety cell to ensure they did not harm themselves.
The panel sought responses from Sheriff Geoff Dean; the city councils of Moorpark, Oxnard and Santa Paula; and county health and probation agencies.
May 31, 2016
Ventura County Star
By Kathleen Wilson
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