New Jail: Yes on J

Overcrowding increases tensions among the 20,000 inmates who are housed on any given day in county jails designed to hold 12,000. It makes life more dangerous for the sheriff’s deputies assigned to secure the facilities. These tensions and dangers dictate a yes vote on Proposition J.

The county bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot will raise $96 million, the county’s share of the cost of 4,644 new beds for adult and juvenile facilities, most of which would be paid for by the state. If Proposition J fails, the county must still come up with $96 million, probably from the general fund at the expense of health and other public programs.

The need is critical. The cost of the bond measure is reasonable. If Proposition J musters two-thirds of the vote, as it should, the owner of a house assessed at $125,000 will pay roughly $7.25 the first year, $3.29 the following year and lesser amounts in subsequent years.

Overcrowding is a problem throughout the county system. When inmates sleep in hallways and corridors, they are more likely to fight with each other and with deputies. Tensions caused by overcrowding contributed to a brawl in the maximum-security section of the Pitchess Honor Rancho last August and to a fight between deputies and inmates, many of them gang members, a year ago in the Men’s Central Jail.

The bond money will not be used to buy anyone a home away from home. What it will buy is more security for the public and less dangerous conditions for guards and inmates. That makes funds raised under Proposition J for Los Angeles County jails a bargain and we urge a yes vote on Nov. 4.