A commission
that for more than half a century has provided an extra layer of inspection of
county jails, police station lockups and juvenile probation camps may be facing
its demise.
The Sybil
Brand Commission, established in 1959 and named for the famed Los Angeles
philanthropist, could be the last casualty of the overhaul of oversight of the
Sheriff’s Department that the Board of Supervisors has ordered in recent years.
According to
a report delivered last week to the supervisors, the commission may not be
“operating at maximum efficiency.”
The
2014-2015 civil grand jury found that the commission should conduct additional
and more comprehensive jail inmate and staff interviews while inspecting the
jails.
But another
group, established to make recommendations on the structure of a new oversight
commission of the Sheriff’s Department, reported to the supervisors that the
board should reconsider the role of the Sybil Brand Commission because the
oversight commission would also inspect the jails as part of its duties.
“The working
group believes there may be considerable overlap between the role of the Sybil
Brand Commission and some of the potential responsibilities of the new
commission,” the group reported to the board.
Attorney
Dean Hansell, who chaired the working group on the Civilian Oversight
Commission, said the duties of the Sybil Brand Commission could be divided into
the oversight commission and the probation commission, and the resources used
by the Sybil Brand Commission could be saved.
The
executive office of the Board of Supervisors responded to the grand jury
findings that the commission is reviewing its processes for inspecting jail
facilities to “maximize inspections in a more effective manner,” according to a
report released last week.
What does
the Sybil Brand Commission do?
The
10-member commission consists of two appointees from each supervisor. It was
founded in 1959 by Brand, who wanted to improve overcrowded conditions of the
jails, especially women’s jails. Each commission member is expected to conduct
two inspections and attend weekly meetings. Once a month, representatives
attend from the probation, children and family services, auditor-controller,
internal services and mental health departments.
The
commission spends most of its efforts inspecting juvenile group homes. The
grand jury reported that representatives from probation and children and family
services consider the commission’s inspections to be a “valuable addition.”
The
commission only reports to the Board of Supervisors, but the practice is to
work with children and family services and probation to get homes in
compliance.
However, the
value of the commission when it comes to inspecting the jails is not as clear.
The grand
jury reported that when a Sheriff’s Department representative was asked how the
commission benefits the Sheriff’s Department, “he didn’t provide an answer.”
No role
Despite
yearly inspections, the commission played no role in detecting or resolving the
problems identified at Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, the grand
jury found.
An ACLU
report in 2010 noted that the jail was an “aging, decrepit facility” and its
inmates experienced “grossly unsanitary conditions.”
“This is
troubling to at least some of the SBC commissioners, and they are giving
thought to what they might do different,” the civil grand jury noted.
The ACLU of
Southern California has inspected conditions in the jails and conducted
interviews with inmates for years. Peter Eliasberg, legal director of the ACLU,
said he hasn’t seen any evidence of the effectiveness of the Sybil Brand
Commission.
“I have no
basis to think they’ve done anything terribly helpful,” he said.
September 6, 2015
Los
Angeles Daily News
By Sarah
Favot
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