County Orders Study of Jail Operations, Moves to Curb Costs

Orange County supervisors, faced with soaring costs for jail facilities and criminal safety programs, Wednesday ordered a sweeping study of whether jail operations could be better run by an entity other than the Sheriff-Coroner’s Department.

Hoping to reduce jail overcrowding and streamline operations, the supervisors also directed that pilot programs be developed for in-home incarceration and video-camera arraignments, plus expansion of a county parole program and a doubling of bed space at a halfway house.

And, for the first time, the board agreed to consider establishing a sobering-up station or detoxification center for public drunks. County Jail officials, faced with a federal court order to reduce overcrowding, no longer accept inebriates.

The board’s flurry of actions came in response to County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish’s projections that the cost of running jails and adding new facilities to keep up with an ever-increasing flow of inmates will total $1.3 billion over the next 15 years.

Tripling of Costs?

County officials now estimate that costs for all jail-related programs may triple from $32.3 million annually to $97.4 million annually by the year 2000 and thus cut deeply into county funds for other mandated programs.

However, the board unanimously rejected the idea of levying special taxes to pay for patrol services, saying it was inappropriate to solve the jail overcrowding problem with fees for policing.

Still, Supervisor Bruce Nestande said, the county must determine whether jails could be run more economically with lower-salaried correctional officers instead of sheriff’s deputies trained for “street-patrol” duties.

Board members took great pains to avoid the appearance of a power struggle with Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates, who was reelected to a fourth term with 64% of the vote despite negative publicity over jail overcrowding problems.

“I do not do this in any way to challenge the sheriff because I think he runs a very good operation,” Nestande said of Gates, who did not attend Wednesday’s hearing. The sheriff was represented by Undersheriff Raul Ramos, who sat quietly in the audience.

Gates has not spoken publicly about the proposal to have a separate entity oversee jail operations, but many county officials said he has indicated his opposition through subordinates.

Ramos also denied that there was a power struggle going on between Gates and supervisors, saying the Sheriff’s Department will continue to cooperate in any study of a new correctional authority.

“We don’t see it as a slap in the face. We see it as a Board of Supervisors being responsive,” Ramos told reporters after the board meeting. “I don’t think we’re talking about power here. . . . I see it as the board reviewing any part of government.”

Like Present System

Still, Ramos left little doubt that Gates and department officials are satisfied with the way jails are run now, including assigning all new deputies to serve a minimum two-year stint of duty in the jails.

“We feel the Sheriff’s Department is doing a great job,” Ramos said. “We’re very proud of our people. . . .”

Asked what position Gates would take if the study due in November concludes that the county jails can be run just as well with lower-salaried correctional officers, Ramos said: “I can’t answer that. Let’s wait and see what the report says when it comes back.”

Initially, Parrish had recommended that supervisors study the creation of a separate jail authority solely for minimum-security prisoners and related programs.

However, Nestande asked for a study of the whole range of jail operations, including maximum-security jails. Such changes, he said, might free sheriff’s deputies to do the patrol work for which they were trained and keep officers from leaving county employment to join local police departments.

He also cautioned that the final report should come back free of “turf” biases, noting that it was “fair to say” that the sheriff had a built-in “bias” against a corrections department.

In related actions, supervisors asked that a pilot program be developed for in-home incarceration. Of 13 such programs across the country, the oldest has been in operation for three years, according to Parrish’s report.

Under the county’s pilot project, being developed by probation officials, nonviolent prisoners would be confined in their homes under strict supervision, possibly by some type of electronic surveillance system. Some prisoners could leave home for work, but for no other reason.

The board also requested that a video-camera arraignment program be developed. This would allow inmates to enter a plea to charges from the jail without ever having to be transported to a courtroom. While it would not reduce the number of prisoners, the program is seen as a means of speeding the criminal justice process and reducing costs.

Video Arraignments

Supervisors approved the idea of trying video arraignments between the main men’s jail and Central Municipal Court in downtown Santa Ana for misdemeanor cases. If successful, county officials hope to expand the arraignments to Municipal courts in north, south and west Orange County.

In a related action, the board agreed to investigate the creation of a sobering-up station or a three- to five-day detoxification center in conjunction with several cities, such as Santa Ana.

Supervisor Harriett Wieder endorsed a recommendation for such a facility, noting that it would handle the overflow of public inebriates who are no longer allowed to “dry out” in jail holding cells.

“Simply warehousing people in the jails is not the answer,” Wieder noted, concurring with recent proposals for such a program from Gates and the 1985-86 grand jury.

In other actions, supervisors rejected special taxes to cover higher costs of patrol services in unincorporated county “islands.” Instead, they supported a policy of contracting with local cities to provide police services in county strips such as those in Anaheim, Orange, Fullerton and Garden Grove.

Areas Excluded

However, Wieder excluded larger unincorporated areas such as Sunset Beach and Rossmoor, both of which are in her district.

Fire service already is provided in many of the same areas by local fire departments, county officials said.

Supervisors also agreed to investigate other jail-related programs, such as weekend arraignment of prisoners, plus a program aimed at releasing suspects who could be expected to return to court for arraignment at a later time.

Board Chairman Ralph B. Clark noted that the proposals approved Wednesday “contain no quick fixes.”

“They will not empty our county jails or stop our county from building a remote-site jail,” Clark said. But, he said, they will “save the county funds while continuing to protect the public from criminals.”