Shut Jails to State Inmates, Judge Suggests

A Superior Court judge Thursday suggested shutting the doors of county jails to suspected state parole violators as a way to reduce jail overcrowding.

Judge James A. Malkus said he was “overwhelmed” at the number of alleged parole violators who are being put into county jails while awaiting hearings.

Last week, the judge said, 203 parole violators were taking up space in county jails--54 downtown and 149 in Chula Vista.

“I’ve got a strong inclination to close the doors of the jail to state officers (who have the) intent of dropping or punishing these people at our doorstep,” Malkus said.

Parole violators are usually returned to the California Institution for Men at Chino to await hearings, but the state often reimburses the county to hold them because the state prison system also is overcrowded.

County Counsel Anthony Albers told the court that he asked the state attorney general’s office to explore whether the county has the right to exclude suspected parole violators.

Much of Thursday’s court hearing centered on finding alternative housing for felony and misdemeanor offenders. Malkus painted a grim picture of the future as county officials try to solve the overcrowding at the County Jail, which is under a Superior Court order to limit its population to 750.

He agreed that the other five county jails might also be subject to litigation for overcrowding.

Two weeks ago, Sheriff John Duffy told law enforcement agencies that the downtown jail would no longer accept misdemeanor offenders, whether potentially dangerous or not. A day later, Malkus allowed the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to exceed the limit by booking “serious” misdemeanants.

Community Defenders Inc. lawyer Alex Landon said a recent memo by Lt. Kathy Fullmer of the County Jail in Vista indicated that the facility was accepting more misdemeanor offenders, most of whom were suspected of being under the influence of alchohol.

Malkus said the memo indicated that police, for example, were taking people ejected from San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for a variety of misdemeanors to the Vista jail. While not directly commenting on the memo’s comments, the judge indicated that police were failing to use their authority to cite people, thereby making unnecessary bookings at the Vista jail.

Landon has claimed in the past that county and city officials have not aggressively pursued alternatives for some offenders. He reiterated that position again when he said that it appeared that too many people were being booked rather than being taken to detox centers, for example.

The San Diego City Council and the county Board of Supervisors will meet May 5 to discuss the jail problem.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Jerry Lewis said that, since Duffy’s order, the Vista jail has had to handle an additional 408 people from the eastern and southern part of the county who would normally have been sent to the downtown jail.

The County Jail at Vista, built with a capacity for 246 inmates, contained 537 prisoners on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Department reported. The number of people at the central jail was 758.

Another court hearing on the central jail is scheduled for May 21.