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CA San Diego Vulnerable To LA’s Crumbling Criminal Justice System

October 3rd, 2011
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San Diego County has a plan to absorb 4,000 offenders who will shift from state to county oversight in the next few months. The county’s probation department is expanding to work on new policies designed to shorten jail stays and increase community supervision.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts said a good working relationship among law enforcement agencies in San Diego should make the transition easier. But he said many other counties are not handling the challenge well. Report by KPBS.

“San Diego is not an island,” he said, “We’re part of a state where many of the counties, they’re not going to be able to deal with this. There are not going to be hundreds of people that don’t belong there, there are going to be thousands of people on the streets of California that rightfully should be in jail.”

Thirty-seven of California’s 58 counties have jails that are already overcrowded.

In Los Angeles, Chief Probation Officer Donald Blevins is under pressure to leave because of a failure to reform the badly broken probation system. Employees have given him a vote of no confidence.

Meanwhile, community leaders are calling on Los Angeles’ sheriff to step down after the ACLU released a damning report.

Peter Eliasberg of ACLU said Sheriff Lee Baca has failed to address systemic violence and prisoner abuse in L.A.’s County overcrowded jails.

“For decades the LA county jail has had enormous problems, “Eliasberg said, “and for decades the sheriff’s department has failed to confront those. Either he or his spokesperson literally engages in a blanket policy of denial. “

Because of its size, LA will receive about a third of the offenders being passed down to county jurisdiction by the state.

Observers are concerned that the leaders of the criminal justice system in LA are under fire, on the brink of an historic change that could threaten public safety state wide.

Tammy CA San Diego County, Overcrowding, Prison Realignment, Probation and Parole, Recidivism

CA County To Close Jail To Save Costs

February 13th, 2009
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The San Diego County CA Sheriff’s Department announced plans yesterday to temporarily close the Descanso Detention Facility, a 440-bed jail east of Alpine, to save about $10 million annually and avoid layoffs.  Report by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Undersheriff Bill Gore said the department will transfer Descanso’s inmates in mid-April to the county’s seven other main jails and close the medium-security jail by early May.   The jail will then be offered for use by other county agencies, including the probation department, or leased to other government or private entities, Gore said. He said the county would retain the option of taking the facility back if it needs the beds …

It is more expensive to operate than other jails because it is on a septic system, sometimes requires use of bottled water due to contaminated groundwater, and has higher transportation costs due to its distance from San Diego.  Yesterday it had 226 inmates – the lowest occupancy among the county jails – with slightly more than half its beds filled, Gore said. The department uses 68 sworn officers to manage Descanso, he said. When it closes, the officers will be transferred to other jails or assigned to guard inmates when they are treated at hospitals.

vericatrajkova CA San Diego County, California, Economic Issues

New Womens’ Jail Gets Boost

May 12th, 2008
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A proposal for a new women’s jail in Santee CA received a major funding boost yesterday as the state announced tentative approval of $100 million for the project.

The state’s Corrections Standards Authority placed the county’s proposal for a new, 1,216-bed jail in Santee high on a list of recipients of $750 million in state bond revenue. Final approval will hinge on whether the state can find a place to build a separate facility in San Diego County to house hundreds of inmates who would receive help for transitioning into society, such as drug treatment, vocational training and anger-management classes. Though the state grant is considerable, it would cover only about a third of the estimated $275 million to $300 million cost for replacing Las Colinas Detention Facility. The county hasn’t yet determined how to pay the balance.

The facility has needed an upgrade for some time.

The county has long identified a need to upgrade Las Colinas, a worn-down, 1960s-era facility that is the only all-female jail in the county. The Sheriff’s department has had to release inmates early from the 810-bed jail after it reached capacity. Described in a grand jury report last year as severely overcrowded and operating under deplorable conditions, the jail currently covers 16 acres in the center of the city. The county’s proposal calls for a new, 45-acre jail to push north and east from the current site.

But the new funding doesn’t appease opponents of the plan.

The county’s proposal for a bigger women’s jail in the center of Santee has sparked intense opposition from city officials and residents, who complain that it would limit economic development and could threaten public safety and property values. Yesterday, city officials continued to press the county to find another location for a bigger jail.  Santee Councilman John Minto said he favors using the money to repair and remodel Las Colinas, but doesn’t want a new jail in Santee. “If they intend to go ahead with the current plan, I’m opposed to it,” he said.

Get the full story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

vericatrajkova CA San Diego County, California, Female Inmates