Improvements and more staff at
the Marsh Creek Detention Facility near Clayton could help remedy crowded
conditions at the County Jail in Martinez, according to the 2014-2015 Contra
Costa Civil grand jury report.
Located 5 1/2 miles from
Clayton, the 164-acre county-owned Detention Facility property is used as a
men-only, minimum-security facility that could house 160 prisoners, but has
recently accommodated an average of 30 to 80, according to the grand jury
report.
The county jail now has about
636 inmates, and inmate-on-inmate violence has increased 50 percent in the past
year, according to the report. Inmates must share cells, eat in their cells and
have very limited time outside of their cells, partly because gang members must
be kept separate from members of other gangs.
In contrast, assignment to the
Marsh Creek facility is considered a privilege. The facility offers high school
diploma classes, vocational, woodworking and horticultural classes and
experience, library access and a chapel with weekly services.
Two abandoned dormitory wings
at Marsh Creek could be renovated by refurbishing the permeable floors and
adding a pharmacy and medical personnel during weekends and evenings, thus
expanding capacity for more inmates there.
More inmates may also require
improved security. The grand jury report says there is only one officer on duty
there at night right now. Clayton Councilman Jim Diaz, a former law enforcement
officer, said in an e-mail this week that at least two officers would be needed
at all times. He also said motion detectors could be used to activate exterior
lighting and an alarm. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office will study the
grand jury recommendation in conjunction with its plan to apply for $90 million
of the $500 million allocated by state Senate Bill 863 to build new jails.
The money would be used to
build a 240-bed mental health building for prisoners at the West County
Detention Facility in Richmond.
That funding source calls for a
10 percent county contribution in matching funds. The new building would
probably not be ready until 2019.
The grand jury report states
"If the Sheriff's Office is unsuccessful, the crowding at the Martinez
Detention Facility could be relieved by alternative funding," as well as
moving inmates to the renovated Marsh Creek Detention site.
Find the complete report --
2014-2015 grand jury Report No. 1508 -- at www.cc-courts.org.
July 22, 2015
Contra
Costa Times
By
Dana Guzzetti
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