Riverside County Quantifies Jail Needs

Riverside County will need 2,300 more jail beds in the next decade to accommodate a swelling inmate population, according to a study presented Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.

The expansion, which would be a 70% increase over current jail space, could cost up to $358.1 million, according to the study by the county executive’s office. Among the proposals included in the report is construction of a second high-rise jail tower, with 1,600 beds, next to Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.

The supervisors ordered the study because of their concern about the growing number of inmates released early because of jail overcrowding. Last year, more than 3,100 inmates went free before their sentences expired, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

“That report gives us direction as a county in terms of short-term and long-term planning,” Sheriff Bob Doyle told the board Tuesday.

For a more long-lasting fix, Doyle advocates building two “hub” jails at each end of the county. Each would have small inmate housing pods ringing a central intake, administration and housekeeping area. He submitted a separate study on the hub concept to the board Tuesday. The earliest such a facility could be operating is 2 1/2 years, Doyle said.

The county executive’s study, by contrast, focuses on expanding existing jails, although it also identifies county-owned land where jails could be built.

Supervisor Jeff Stone, who clashed with the Sheriff’s Department this summer over how best to solve the problem of early releases, said the hub project could cost up to $400 million.

“That’s going to be a challenge for this county, to figure out how we’re going to pay” for such a project, Stone said.

The study listed sales tax increases, fees from developers and state or federal grants as possible revenue sources.

County and sheriff’s officials will form a committee to determine the feasibility and other details of possible hub jails.