Crowding, inefficiency cited at county lockup
June
30, 2014
Santa
Cruz Sentinel
By
Stephen Baxter
SANTA CRUZ
>> The Santa Cruz
County Main Jail is crowded, it needs better security and it should have
stricter rules for inmates, according to a civil grand jury report.
Released in
June, the report was based on interviews with correctional officers,
administrators and medical staff in the past year. It also included visits to
the jail at 259 Water St. in Santa Cruz in August and in January.
"Overcrowded
housing conditions and inconsistent disciplinary practices create safety risks,
health problems and increased demands on the Main Jail staff," the report
stated. "We also observed inmate violations of rules and
regulations."
The report
stated some of the jail's medical staff who treat inmates were left without a
correctional officer in the room at times and felt unsafe. Other problems
included a lack of posting of jail rules, posters and towels in cells that
could be used to hide contraband, and a lack of video surveillance in the
booking area and medical clinic.
Monday, Sheriff-Elect
Jim Hart said some of the problems spotlighted in the report already had been
fixed.
Four more
correctional officers are expected to be hired in the coming months, and part
of their duties will be to escort inmates at the medical clinic and other areas
of the jail.
"I
totally agree. I think there should be an officer there inside the medical
facility for a lot of the procedures," Hart said. "They can't
necessarily be there all the time, but if it's a fairly quick procedure — which
it usually is — they can be there."
The report
added that about one in four inmates suffers from a mental disorder and
receives psychotropic medication.
Hart said
that jail rules have been posted on the walls since the grand jury's visit, and
others at the jail said more video surveillance has been added.
Relieving
crowding is a long-term process, he said. The Main Jail is rated to house 311
inmates, but its daily population usually tops that.
In 2013,
there were 340 inmates to 411 inmates, according to the report, "some of
whom were sleeping in the day room floor in temporary plastic beds referred to
as 'boats.'"
Some relief
has come from the Custody Alternatives Program, which includes electronic
monitors for low-level offenders. With GPS ankle monitors, participants can
leave the jail and continue to work or attend school or counseling with
authorities' supervision.
The 392
people in the program in 2013 saved about 18,600 days in jail and $1.5 million
in the Sheriff's Office budget, according to the report. Authorities have said
that ankle monitor absconding is rare.
With a grant
recently received from the state, county leaders also are renovating part of
the Rountree Detention Center outside Watsonville to hold 64 inmates in a
medium-security setting. It also will add educational and vocational programs
for inmates.
Hart said
construction is due to start in June 2015 and expected to finish at the end of
2017.
Another
point brought up by the grand jury was the possibility of inmates participating
in video conferencing for minor court appearances rather than having a deputy
escort them to Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Hart said other counties do
it, and it could save precious staff time if prosecutors, defense attorneys and
court administrators approve it.
Sheriff's Office
leaders must write a formal response to the grand jury report by early August.
The grand jury also released five other reports on city and county issues in
June.
"We're
always glad to get some outside eyes," Hart said of the grand jury report.
"We certainly appreciate their efforts."
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