Crowded County Jails Target of Civil Rights Probe by Justice Dept.

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into conditions at overcrowded Los Angeles County Jail facilities to determine if the civil rights of inmates are being violated, it was disclosed Tuesday.

If the federal inquiry determines that prisoner rights are being jeopardized, such findings could lead to demands for remedial action or litigation, Justice Department spokesman John Wilson said. He said that about a dozen similar investigations have been completed in other parts of the nation, most of which led to court-approved agreements for jail reforms.

Wilson would not disclose why the Los Angeles inquiry was launched, but said such inquiries usually focus on overcrowding and how that might hamper accessibility of inmates to their lawyers, relatives, law books and medical treatment. Federal experts also will probably inspect sanitary and food conditions, he added.

Ongoing Lawsuit

County officials, reacting to the development, said they have no idea what triggered the investigation and are making inquiries through the local U.S. attorney’s office to find out. Particularly curious to local officials is why such an investigation is considered needed in light of an ongoing, 10-year-old federal court lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over jail conditions.

“We really don’t know,” said Assistant Sheriff Jerry Harper when asked what prompted the federal investigation. “We don’t know the nature of the complaints.”

The investigation, by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division operating under provisions of the 1980 Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, is the latest twist in a continuing jail facility controversy that in recent years has centered primarily on overcrowding. On Tuesday morning, officials reported, nearly 18,000 inmates were being housed at county jail facilities, although they were built for only 11,824 prisoners.

Sheriff Sherman Block has partly blamed overcrowding for a jail uprising last June 2 that left 37 people--including 12 deputies--injured. Jail officials have reported two slayings involving inmates, but have not attributed those to crowded conditions.

Disclosed by Hahn

The federal investigation was divulged by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who said it underscored the need for new jail construction or expansion of existing facilities. Hahn, citing the investigation, proposed that the Board of Supervisors place a $200-million jail construction bond measure on next June’s primary ballot.

But Hahn’s fellow supervisors, while agreeing that the problem must be addressed, said that the local bond issue might not be the wisest course. Any such ballot measure, under provisions of Proposition 13, would require two-thirds approval for passage.

Systemwide as of Tuesday morning, there were 17,988 inmates being housed at eight Los Angeles County Jail facilities, nearly 70% over the 11,824-inmate capacity they were built for, according to sheriff’s spokesman Bob Stoneman.

But an individual facility breakdown showed that overcrowding at some locations exceeds 70%. Stoneman said that 8,064 prisoners were counted at the Central Jail on Tuesday morning, which was 58% over the facility’s 5,118-inmate capacity.

Figures at the other facilities included, at the Hall of Justice, 1,686 prisoners or 113% over its 792-inmate capacity; at the Sybil Brand Institute (women’s jail), 1,770 prisoners, or 95% over its 910-inmate capacity; at the Biscailuz Center, 1,175 prisoners, or 20% over its 976-inmate capacity and at the Mira Loma facility, 550 prisoners or 38% over its 400-inmate capacity.

Overcrowding Elsewhere

Overcrowding also exists at the county’s maximum-to-minimum security facilities at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Ranch. Those range from a high of 108% over capacity at the medium-security facility (1,488 prisoners versus a 717-inmate capacity) to a low of 21% over capacity at the minimum-security facility (1,341 prisoners versus a 1,112-inmate capacity), Stoneman said.

In recent months, county officials, led by Block, have proposed a number of possible remedies, such as night court or longer court hours, to ease the overcrowding.

Block has repeatedly complained that the criminal justice system allows both defense and prosecuting attorneys to delay disposition of cases through such legal maneuvers as continuances. Consequently, the sheriff has argued, nearly half of the jail population is still awaiting the outcome of their cases.

Department spokesman Stoneman said that of the 17,988 jail inmates on Tuesday, 8,056 were awaiting trial, 4,036 were awaiting sentencing and 5,896 have been sentenced and are doing time.

Federal Court Suit

Overcrowding was a key element in a federal court lawsuit filed 10 years ago by the ACLU. That suit charged that jail officials had unconstitutionally violated inmate rights by prohibiting physical contact between prisoners awaiting trial and family members. The sheriff’s department, which administers the jails, defended the restrictions at the Central Jail because of drug and other security-related problems at the overcrowded facility.

Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the restrictions in a 6-3 ruling on July 3, 1984. But talks are continuing between the county and the ACLU over other conditions involving prisoner rights, said Assistant Sheriff Harper.

U.S. District Judge William Gray, who is presiding over the ACLU suit, complained in 1981 that the rights of federal prisoners who were being temporarily housed in county jail facilities were being violated due to overcrowding. Subsequently all male federal prisoners were moved out of the county facilities, although some female federal inmates are at Sybil Brand, Harper said.