Sheriff May Free Some New Prisoners to Meet Deadline

Scrambling to meet a federal judge’s Sunday night deadline for reducing the County Jail population, Sheriff Brad Gates may begin releasing some new prisoners on his own authority rather than wait for court approval, his top assistant said Wednesday.

Undersheriff Raul Ramos said Gates may issue citations to some accused of minor crimes--giving them a date to appear in court--rather than keeping them in jail if no beds are available.

The sheriff has also asked Municipal Court judges to help in reducing the jail population by slightly easing their standards for releasing jail inmates pending trial.

Ramos emphasized that the citation release program is only one of several possibilities now under consideration by Gates.

Compliance Guaranteed

“One thing is definite--come Sunday night, we are going to be in compliance with the judge’s order,” Ramos said. “No one will be sleeping on the floor after their first 24 hours at the jail.”

Hundreds of people who are arrested are now released on their own recognizance each month without ever spending a full night at the jail. But those releases are ordered by Central Municipal Court, which stations a “detention release” representative in the booking area on the first floor of the downtown Santa Ana men’s jail.

For the first time in recent years, Gates may begin releasing inmates on his own authority--rather than the court’s--with a citation order that they show up in court for arraignment on charges against them. Many of these people given a citation release would probably be public drunks, the undersheriff said, adding that they would not be released before a reasonable sobering-up period of at least four hours.

Citation release is one of the recommendations of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the court action forcing changes at the jail.

Based on the ACLU complaint, U.S. District Judge William P. Gray issued an order on March 18 that the county be fined $10 a day for each inmate who has to sleep on the floor for more than 24 hours. But last Thursday, he strengthened that order. He gave Gates 10 days to get all inmates off the floor after the first 24 hours of incarceration.

That order takes effect Sunday night.

Changes in Standard Sought

Ramos added that Gates is also hoping that Central Municipal Court will ease the standards it uses to determine which inmates are released on their own recognizance. For example, those who live outside Orange County are not considered eligible for detention release. Gates is asking that the court change that standard so that those who live in outlying counties can be released on their own recognizance, or on lower bail. Gates made the request in recent months, but reiterated it after Gray’s new order last week, Ramos said.

Don Bell, director of detention release for Central Municipal Court, said an easing of the standards for release is under consideration. He also said the court has a plan before the Board of Supervisors to expand the number of investigators in the detention release program, which should increase the number of inmates being released before their court appearances.

When Gray issued his March 18 order, there were more than 2,000 inmates in the jail--which has an official capacity of 1,191--and about 500 inmates sleeping on the floor. In recent weeks, the numbers in the jail have been reduced to below 1,800, and because of an increase in bunks, the numbers on the floor have been between none and 50.

Those figures could go up considerably in the next few days if Gates doesn’t make some changes. Part of Gray’s order last Thursday required jail officials to remove 28 double bunks from dormitories where Gray had permitted the use of triple bunks. Jail Commander Richard King testified at a hearing in Gray’s court on Aug. 13 that if he had to remove those double bunks, another 56 inmates would have to sleep on the floor.

Ramos said the double bunks were removed earlier this week.

Transfer of Inmates

Another alternative for reducing the population at the main jail, Ramos said, would be to increase the number of inmates being transferred to the two branch jails--Theo Lacy in Orange and the James A. Musick Honor Farm near El Toro.

“Every day, we go over ways we can send more people to these other facilities,” Ramos said.

Since Gray’s March 18 order, Gates has sent more than 100 additional inmates to Theo Lacy, and with financial support from the Board of Supervisors, set up 320 additional beds in temporary tents at the Musick farm.

Gates also eliminated almost all federal and state prisoners from his jail to keep down the population.

Sheriff’s officials have said all along that citation release is one option available.

ACLU attorney Richard Herman, reached Tuesday, said he is not concerned with the methods Gates uses to keep the jail population down.

“As long as the numbers go down to where living conditions are reasonable, who cares how it happens,” Herman said.

King testified before Gray that Gates had not previously used citation release because almost anybody who would be eligible for such release should have been screened through the court’s detention release program.

But Ramos said Wednesday that citation release is a good possibility if changes in detention release procedures do not assure that no inmates will have to sleep on the floor.

Thomas F. Riley, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, had scheduled a meeting of the county’s jail task force--an ad hoc group to make recommendations to the board--for Wednesday afternoon to come up with ways to help Gates comply with Gray’s latest order. But that meeting Wednesday consisted mainly of officials from the county counsel’s office explaining to Gates and Ramos what the sheriff’s rights were regarding refusal to accept new inmates.

“Do we have the authority to tell police agencies which bring people to our jail that we just can’t accept them?” Ramos said. “After listening to our counsel, we don’t believe we do.”