Deukmejian Tours State’s Newest Penitentiary

Seeking to put the best face on his often-delayed prison construction program, Gov. George Deukmejian toured California’s newest penitentiary Tuesday, the first maximum-security institution built in the state in 105 years.

Begun in 1979 under former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and officially completed this month, the prison is billed as a “state-of-the-art” facility that will soon house 1,400 of the state’s most dangerous criminals.

“It does not bring me a great deal of joy to see that it is necessary for the state to construct a maximum-security institution,” Deukmejian said at a ceremony to commemorate the prison’s opening. “Nevertheless, I must say that I’m proud that we’re carrying out our duty to provide protection and safety for the people of California.”

During a 30-minute tour of the prison, Deukmejian stepped briefly into the main prison yard and was greeted by a few shouted obscenities from inmates, who were kept at a considerable distance from the governor.

“I think they were asking me to stay for dinner,” Deukmejian quipped later.

After the tour, Deukmejian denied to reporters that his prison construction program is behind schedule and lashed back at Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, his rival in the November gubernatorial election, over delays in the prison construction program.

The $90-million prison is the second new facility opened since Deukmejian became governor. The Deukmejian Administration is in the midst of an ambitious program to build housing for about 23,000 inmates.

The state’s prisons, designed to hold 30,800 prisoners, now house 51,500, and the total is rising steadily.

Deukmejian’s prison construction program has been repeatedly delayed by planning and construction problems, local opposition over the sites selected and lawsuits over environmental requirements.

“All of the prisons at this point are behind the schedules that were presented to the Legislature at the time funding and authorization were requested,” said nonpartisan Legislative Analyst William G. Hamm in an interview.

Deukmejian told reporters that the prisons are meeting their schedules but he acknowledged that the timetables have been updated to reflect later completion dates.

“Based on the schedules that have been approved, we’re proceeding on target,” the governor said.

The Administration at one time said it would complete construction of accommodations for 17,700 inmates by this month and for 19,400 by the end of this year.

However, the opening of the final Tehachapi unit brings the total of new prison beds since Deukmejian took office to 4,220. State officials now expect to have a total of about 9,000 finished by the end of the year.

In recent months, Bradley has criticized the delays in prison construction plan, charging that Deukmejian has not followed through on his commitment to build new cells.

Deukmejian responded Tuesday that Bradley has consistently made “untruthful statements” about the prison program and again criticized Bradley for not supporting the controversial state prison site selected in downtown Los Angeles.

‘Untruths’ Charged

“It would be much more beneficial to his constituents and the people of California if he (Bradley) would be more cooperative on this prison construction program rather than going around and making untruthful statements,” the Republican governor said.

In a rare gesture, Deukmejian praised former Gov. Brown for seeking to expand the prison system and winning legislative approval for the Tehachapi prison.

The Department of Corrections began moving inmates into the first of the facility’s two identical units last October.

By the time of the governor’s tour, 961 criminals were imprisoned in the facility, which was built next to an existing medium-security prison. The new prison’s stated design capacity is 1,000 prisoners but it may ultimately house as many as 1,700.

Easy Inmate Segregation

The maximum-security facility is a Cadillac of prisons that includes such features as sliding doors operated by remote control, isolated housing units and separate recreation yards that allow prison officials to segregate inmates easily. The concrete-and-steel prison has solid doors with narrow windows, not bars, to improve security.

As Deukmejian inspected one of the new cells and a shower, one of the inmates locked in his cell peered out at the governor.

The prison, however, will be costly to operate. It will have a ratio of two staff members for every inmate, the highest of any prison in the state, according to Jeff Ruch, a consultant to the Assembly Public Safety Committee. In five years, he said, the cost of operating the prison will exceed the cost of building it.