Review of Jail Classification System Approved

The special master at the Orange County Jail was given the go-ahead Thursday to begin a review of its inmate housing classification system, in an effort to find new ways to reduce jail overcrowding.

The American Civil Liberties Union has questioned whether overcrowding of the jail’s medical ward, and an improper classification of inmates, might have contributed to the death of two inmates there last month. One was strangled and an autopsy is scheduled to be performed on the second victim.

“The present classification system may be very good as it is; I can’t say until I really get into this,” said Lawrence G. Grossman, who has been special master at the jail for almost four years. “But overcrowding problems still exist. This may be a way to help.”

Jail officials explain that they cannot always fill all their beds, despite overcrowding, because of the importance of housing inmates by class. Inmates with no previous arrests, for example, are not placed in the same cell with a known gang member with a long history of arrests. Accused child molesters, for their own protection, cannot be housed with the main population.

Also, sentenced inmates can be classified for transfer to the James A. Musick branch jail, but inmates awaiting trial on felony charges cannot. County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish said recently that the county has been concerned about a high number of empty beds at Musick, even though Sheriff Brad Gates is demanding that the Board of Supervisors provide him with 600 more jail beds immediately. Gates has refused in the past to lower the standards for determining who will be sent to the Musick facility.

Thursday, in part at Parrish’s urging, jail officials met with Grossman and asked him to make a classification study a high priority.

Grossman said the jail’s medical ward would be included in his study but that county officials had discussed a classification review even before the two recent jail deaths.