Problems at the decrepit and
overcrowded Monterey County Jail range from inmate-endangering behaviors and
lack of accountability to inadequate scrutiny of mail, according to a scathing
civil grand jury report released Tuesday afternoon.
Deficiencies stem from three
key areas, the 40-page report says: improper allocation of funding, lack of
leadership and inadequate staffing.
Entrenched problems are caused
by staff members who resist change and are not disciplined effectively, the
report says: "Traditionally there have been few or no penalties for a
deputy's failure to comply with jail policies and procedures."
Chronic short-staffing at the
jail was noted as a major problem in a 2012 grand jury report, but little has
changed since then, the new report says.
These three main areas lead to
a host of other problems that the report outlines.
Among other things, the report
covers a class-action lawsuit about inmate health care filed in U.S. District
Court and pending court approval of a tentative settlement, but says
"problems that were observed or reported to the [grand jury] ... go beyond
the conditions alleged and settled in the class action case. These problems may
be divided into ... health and safety issues, financial and contracting issues
and administrative issues." The report notes the medical services contract
has been held for 26 years by California Forensics Medical Group, and
recommends making sure the contract is widely advertised the next time it comes
up for bid.
Sheriff Steve Bernal has 60
days to respond to the report, but his office issued a brief statement Tuesday
afternoon:
"The Sheriff's Office has
reviewed the 2014-2015 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury (MCCGJ) Final Report
No. 13. The Sheriff's Office applauds the [grand jury] for their efforts and
agrees with some of their findings. As described in the report, the county and
Sheriff's Office have reached a tentative settlement agreement in [the
class-action suit]. The settlement agreement requires the defendants and
plaintiffs to work together in addressing many of the findings of the [grand
jury] , including but not limited to medical care, classification, programs and
staffing.
"Additionally, many of the
issues and recommendations detailed by the [grand jury] and not identified in
the settlement agreement, had already been identified by the current
administration. Improvements were made and practices were changed. Many
additional changes have been implemented, or are in various stages of
implementation.
"The Sheriff's Office
looks forward to working with their partners to address the findings and
recommendations of the MCCGJ and will continue to seek efficient and effective
practices to ensure the safety, of staff and inmates."
Report: Inmate welfare checks a
weak area
The report zeroes in on inmate
deaths in custody and welfare/safety checks, concluding "there is a
chronic problem with deputies at the jail failing to conduct required visual
checks on inmates ... The [grand jury] found strong evidence that inmate
welfare checks throughout the jail are not routinely being done once per hour,
nor are they being done on an irregular schedule as required under California
law." The jury also found that logs of such welfare checks often have
illegible scrawls where signatures belong that "make accountability more
difficult and appear to be associated with a general resistance to
change." The problems can be attributed in part "to lack of, or
ineffective use of, a formal, mandatory progressive discipline system by
supervisory staff: [the grand jury] has been told that in the past there have
been few to no consequences for a deputy's failure to comply with jail
policies."
The report also says a federal
minimum requirement for each inmate to be allowed three hours per week in the
exercise yard "is routinely missed," in part because of
short-staffing.
The jail mailroom is another
weak point, according to the report. Staffed by a single clerk five days a
week, the mailroom handles up to 500 pieces of mail a day. "Finding
contraband and screening mail is an overwhelming job for a single
employee," the report says. "While some facilities use mail screening
machines and inspect mail with dogs trained to detect drugs, these are not
used" here. "All screening is currently done by hand and
visually," the report says. A security threat is created for inmates and
staff by a jail policy that allows inmate-to-inmate mail, the report says.
Contraband also gets into the
jail by people outside throwing it over the fence into the exercise yard or
incoming inmates smuggling it in body cavities, the report says. "Whatever
method or combination of methods are used, contraband has been described to
[the grand jury] as an ongoing serious problem in the jail, with two deaths
during 2014 being attributed to drug overdoses," the report says.
Misappropriated funds?
After touching on the jail's
inadequate maintenance and lack of room for inmate programs, the report goes on
to say that about half the money from the Inmate Welfare Fund, which is
supposed to be spent primarily for the benefit of the inmates (including paying
for drug counselors and the like), is being used to pay for salary and benefits
of employees who should have been paid from the general fund. The amount comes
to about $500,000.
"One of the first things
Sheriff [Steve] Bernal did shortly after taking office in January ... was to
discharge the members of the Inmate Welfare Fund Advisory Committee [which] was
formed to advise the sheriff in the use of the funds deposited in the Inmate
Welfare Fund," the report says. "The disbanding of the committee was
done reportedly because there were members of the committee who were being paid
from the fund and that was viewed by the new sheriff as a conflict of interest.
To date, there have been no new members appointed outside the Sheriff's Office
to sit on the committee."
The report also says state
realignment funds were supposed to be spent on installing two portable
classrooms, but Americans with Disabilities Act requirements caused cost
overruns and the classrooms were never installed, thus maintaining the jail's
lack of space for rehabilitation programs.
In conclusion, the report makes
18 recommendations for improvements, leading with the county providing more
funding. Others: Plans for a new jail addition should include space for inmate
training and programs; enforcement of a formal, mandatory progressive
discipline system for jail employees to be consistently applied; conducting
regular roll call briefings; regular audits of special funds for inmate welfare
and prison realignment; hiring a second mailroom clerk and purchasing
mail-scanning equipment; widely advertising the jail medical services contract
the next time it comes up for bid; and analyzing whether medical services at
the jail could be provided by county-owned Natividad Medical Center.
June
24, 2015
The
Salinas Californian
By
Katharine Ball
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