Agreeing with a little less than half of the findings of a scathing 40-page civil grand jury report on the Monterey County Jail, the Monterey County Board of Supervisor’s formal response to the report as well as recommendations on how issues have been addressed or will be addressed will come back to the board Sept. 1 for final approval.
The Board of Supervisors responded to 24 findings regarding the jail as well as addressed 20 recommendations in the response document.
Findings that the board agreed on included problematic jail staff overtime, but they noted that recruitment and reorganization is addressing it, albeit in a short-term fashion.
The board also agrees that there is inadequate inmate programming space at the jail as well as that contraband drugs are a serious problem at all correctional facilities, not just Monterey County Jail.
Nearly half of the money from the Inmate Welfare Fund, totaling about $500,000 and intended to pay for providing things like inmate training and programs, was instead being used to pay staff for jail cleaning and maintenance, according to the findings.
The board agreed that those staff positions had devolved from their intended purpose in recent years, and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is recruiting more staff and reorganizing the inmate training programs in response.
The board also wholly disagrees with several findings, such as that jail cleanliness and conditions are substandard and staffing levels are inadequate, noting that staffing with overtime has been adequate to fulfill state and federal mandates.
The board also disagrees that a planned jail addition may not include adequate space for inmate programs.
One finding in the draft response report has since been amended after supervisors were provided with more information, said Manuel T. Gonzalez, assistant county administrative officer.
While the board originally disagreed that it was inadequate that only one officer at a time keeps an eye on jail cameras, it changed its response to agree with the finding. It also agreed on a separate finding that there are too few cameras at the jail in general, and a request has been submitted to upgrade the jail’s camera system.
The report also made allegations that there is minimal use of a formal disciplinary system for staff infractions, a finding that the board wholly disagrees with, stating that formal and informal discipline is used whenever employee misconduct is found.
Partial disagreements with findings included issues of insufficient mailroom staffing, inmate-to-inmate mail posing a safety risk, and allegations that inmate health and welfare checks and logs aren’t being consistently completed.
The board said county officials routinely audit health and welfare check logs completed by correctional staff, and while some aren’t completed correctly, routine checks are conducted and action is taken when policy violations are found.
Some of the board recommendations on these issues, such as approving adequate funding for staff and inmate programs, has already been implemented.
Others, such as installing prison-view windows or prohibiting inmate-to-inmate mail, were deemed unnecessary by the board and will not be implemented.
Planning for fulfilling other recommendations is in the works. Examples include the need to appoint at least four civilians to the Inmate Welfare Advisory Committee, which will be re-established by September, and to widely advertise the bid for jail medical services next time it comes up. The contract has been held by California Forensics Medical Group for 26 years. The current contract expires in June.
Lastly, the board said some recommendations, like seeking funds for an additional full-time mailroom clerk and to buy electronic mail scanning equipment, will require further analysis.
The Californian
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