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Inmates, violence on rise in two jails
County Grand Jury reports costs up, too
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More from County NewsPersistent overcrowding at Ventura County jails has led to an uptick in violence in the facilities and increased costs, according to a report released Thursday afternoon by the Ventura County Grand Jury.
From 2003 to 2007, 1,171 inmate-on-inmate assaults were reported in county jails, according to the report.
The number of such assaults nearly doubled in four years, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. In 2003, 144 inmate assaults were reported. That number shot up to 331 in 2006, then dropped to 287 in 2007.
The number of bookings in the jails increased by 5.2 percent in 2006 and 6.4 percent in 2007, according to the Grand Jury report.
The daily inmate population in the two main county jails averaged 1,697 in 2007 — more than 120 over approved capacity.
This year, the number of people in Ventura County jails on an average day remains near a historic high, Bonfiglio said.
About 25 percent of the inmates are undocumented, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department's policy of keeping convicted undocumented inmates for their full sentences before turning them over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement for deportation is contributing to overcrowding, according to the report.
If these trends continue, county jails could face a court-ordered population cap that would force jail administrators to release inmates early, the report warns.
Courts have capped inmate populations in 21 other California counties.
Despite overcrowding, the Grand Jury praised the local detention facilities.
"The county jail facilities reviewed conduct their services in an exemplary manner and meet or exceed the standards mandated by the California State Corrections Standards Authority," the report states.
The Grand Jury recommends local authorities consider transferring undocumented inmates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement before they complete their sentences, set a start date for the expansion of the Todd Road Jail near Santa Paula and expand the Ventura County Probation Agency's Work Furlough program.
The report also recommends the Oxnard and Santa Paula police departments install automatic external defibrillators near their holding cells.
The upgrade of the Work Furlough housing facility is listed as a high priority in the Board of Supervisors' five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which was adopted Tuesday.
The upgrade would cost $4.013 million and increase the facility's capacity from 140 to 235 inmates, said Lyle McDonald, who manages the Work Furlough program. The proposed expansion has not been funded.
The Work Furlough program allows certain low-risk inmates to keep their jobs while spending nights in custody.
While expanding the program is not a solution to the jail overcrowding problem, it could help ease the pressure on jails and keep convicts from reoffending, McDonald said.
Work Furlough is also cheaper than jail time.
According to the Grand Jury report, it costs $114.62 to keep an inmate in the Todd Road Jail. Meanwhile, inmates in work furlough pay the county up to $62 per day.
Expanding the Todd Road Jail is also listed in the capital improvement plan as one of the county's priorities. The project, which is being studied, could cost as much as $132.5 million.
Posted by highriseray1 on June 14, 2008 at 5:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
25% are undocumented meaning they are not american citizens , one thing i know the county gets something like 80 dollars aday to feed and house these undocumented inmates from the state, but is the money more important then just rather sending them back to where they came from? can someone do the math for me?
Posted by scottyspasm on June 14, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thats 25% that are undocumented and have been CONVICTED. That doesn't count the ones that haven't had their trial yet. Those guys are released with the hope that they'll show up for their court cases.
Posted by jjp009 on June 14, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One thing I will never understand: Why do the guards risk their lives and intervene when there's inmate on inmate violence going on? Let them kill each other!! Who cares? The quicker they're off the planet the less our tax dollars go to caring for these bags of feces. But, as soon as one empty cell opens up, there will be ten more "rap stars" to take his place. What's the point?
Posted by marketrealist on June 14, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe we should not be putting non-violent offenders in jail? It costs the taxpayers a bomb and it creates a dangerous situation in prison. There are far more creative ways to deal with non-violent offenders such as community service, work furlough, fines, etc. The main opponents to this are the prison guard unions that don't want their staff size or benefits cut. We put in ten times more people in jail per capita than Europe does. The system is just plain stupid.
Posted by patticakepatti on June 14, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe we should look at the real problem...Perhaps it has something to do with how good old Bobbie is running things...
Didn't he just kick down one of his top guns???
Posted by Common_Sense on June 14, 2008 at 4:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Marketrealist, lets explore your thoughts about not incarcerating those who commit what you consider "non-violent offenses." How about these guys who think it is a form of art to spray paint their nickname all over everyone's private property. Non violent I guess and I am sure that making them pick up trash on the weekend, etc will teach them a lesson and during this punishment time they certainly will not go out and produce more "art". How about someone who is caught stealing a couple pair of pants from Mervyns. Not really violent and certainly 8 hours of trash pickup up will teach them. All the while, you and I pay more for our pair of jeans to help Mervyns cover the costs of their losses.
Auto burglars. Certainly breaking a window in the middle of the night, stealing your radio and whatever change you have in your glovebox is not violent. Perhaps they will learn from trash pickup duty. I am sure that the poor guy/gal who wakes up in the morning to go to work only to find they have been invaded will see this as justice. Drug addicts. Here we go, now we all know this group is a very productive part of society. Certainly they will learn their lessons and stop smoking/injecting their candy if a judge tells them they have to pick-up trash. Now the argument you will make, perhaps, is this is a victim less crime. Well, tell the victims of the theft, auto burglary, etc that fell prey to these leaches that this they are not victims. The solution is, in my opinion, to increase capacity (this county is growing folks) while increasing the negative stigma in society towards folks who do not follow the rules. Celebrities (why the heck we call these people this I will never understand) get arrested for DUI, shoplifting, beating their wives, etc and get more and more press etc. Much of today's music/media glorifies carrying guns, selling drugs, etc. We have become way to accepting of this type of behavior which, in my opinion, has increased the prevalence of it. Reducing punitive sanctions on what you have characterized as "non-violent" crimes will further this.
Posted by ironwoman on June 14, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jip09- IT is the "guards" responsibility to ensure that they don't kill eachother. Otherwise, their liberal attorneys will swoop over the system and sue for billions of dollars. Some Federal Judge will intervene and make some mandated order to house these criminals with the best care. It's a sick system but that's how it goes.
Posted by senorbriar on June 14, 2008 at 5:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The county needs a more comprehensive pretrial system, which has worked very well in other counties. In fact it has even generated income for the county. More house arrest pending trial, would equate into less people housed at county jail. At the moment theses pretrial defendants in custody get credit for thier sentence before trial. Why not put the burden on the state instead, after they are sentenced to state prison. Eventually our county jail system will be like LA county where they get 90% custody credit. Remember Paris Hilton who did about a minute of custody.
Posted by senorbriar on June 14, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lyle McDonald is a donkey. He couldn't manage himself out of a paper bag, let alone a custody facility. He is a perfect example of an ineffective manager who lacks leadership skills, and can't spell innovative. Par for the course, over at the probation department. Along with a new Sheriff, we probably need a new probation chief. Someone with vision. It has just been "next yes man in line" since Frank Woodson left. Somebody from the outside should come in and clean house.
Posted by mikeb6804 on June 14, 2008 at 7:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think Sheriff Joe should be consulted for solutions.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on June 14, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jjp009 ,THe same reason they save your family in a crisis! God forbid one of your loved ones is locked for any reason at all and you would make such a statement. And your comment seems racist also. People go to jail or prison for all kinds of different reasons. No one is perfect and no family is beyond this. It seems like you live in a bubble.
marketrealist ,Good suggestion!
Posted by jjp009 on June 14, 2008 at 10:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
AnnaWhaat: The only bubble is the one atop your shoulders. If any of my "loved ones" committed a crime so heinous that they ended up in prison, I would never acknowledge kinship with that person let alone give a damn what happened to them in the joint. And what exactly was racist about my comment? There aren't wannabe rap stars of ALL colors sent to prison? And I bet they all say they're innocent, right?
Posted by jjp009 on June 14, 2008 at 10:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Anna: PS You know I'm kidding about the bubble thing, right? I just thought it was funny. Don't think I'm racist, though. If they felt my comment was inappropriate, it would probably have been removed. Let's face it, if we can't laugh at the news once in a while, we'll all go crazy soon. It seems like our society is hanging by a thread these days and only getting worse.
Posted by BigJake on June 15, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Former Chief Justice Wm. “Hang ‘em high; I never met an jail that I though was bad” Rehnquist (an appointment that proves Reagan had Alzheimer’s early on) said, "Nobody promised them a rose garden," (Atiyeh v. Capps, 449 U.S. 1312, 66 L.Ed.2d 785). Well, folks if we are going to lock them up worse than animals, they are going to act worse than animals. To read some here every people in prison deserves his full issue. But being beaten, or beaten to death, is not part of the sentence. If you want to keep locking up everyone, then you have got to build more space to house them.
Posted by BigJake on June 15, 2008 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
people = person
Posted by marketrealist on June 16, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CommonSense, does it make sense for the taxpayer to pick up the $40,000 per year or so it costs to house a prisoner for something like spray painting a car? How about the fact that you take a kid of 20 years old and throw him in with hardened criminals and we get out a hardened criminal after spending the $40,000. Surely we can smarter about our punishments?
Posted by jbh50 on June 16, 2008 at 5:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm surprised that jw1000 hasn't posted blaming it all on some right wing nutjob....blah blah.
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