Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Updated: 06/14/2009 11:59:50 PM PDT
Mendocino County grand jury has released its findings on the Mendocino County jail and encourages pursuit of long range plans for a new justice center in the Ukiah area.
A report named "Bulging at the seams," examines the county jail and courthouse holding cells based on a tour of jail cells and interviews with those who work there, the report states.
The grand jury says that it has found the County Jail which houses about 300 inmates to be overcrowded in some areas due to prisoner gender and classification.
The grand jury also finds that there is no longer a law library at the jail. When an inmate has a legal question, the grand jury states, a contracted firm supplies an answer from law students that have researched the inmate's query.
Grand jury review of jail records shows that over a two year period the jail was at or near full capacity therefore complicating the ways that inmates are housed based on their inmate classification, the report states.
Some inmates were found sleeping on stack-a-bunks', plastic frames with mattresses, the grand jury stated. In the delivery station doorway and in a nearby drain there were some tiles either broken or missing. The grand jury says that those tiles were then slated to be repaired by May 20, 2009.
Problems with aging plumbing and door locks needing repair are two other things the grand jury found in its evaluation of the jail.
In its findings the grand jury states that there is some actions taken to help inmates while they pass their days inside the confines of jail.
A chance to get a GED or general education diploma is available to inmates as well as computer and parenting skills, for example.
The grand jury makes the following recommendations to County Jail based on its findings: Tiles on the kitchen floor ought to be replaced, if a cost-effective way to improve plumbing can be found it should be followed.
The grand jury asks the following governments and people to respond to "Bulging at the seams" : Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, Mendocino County CEO, Mendocino County Sheriff and for a partial response, the General Services Agency.
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_12592364
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