Jail Proposal Raises Idea of Females at Theo Lacy

Orange County formally filed its proposal to expand the Theo Lacy branch jail in the city of Orange on Tuesday in a document that raises the possibility of putting women inmates at the facility that now houses only men.

The plans call for up to four new buildings, each up to 40 feet high, to hold as many as 1,016 inmates in a branch jail that now holds 720.

Two of the buildings will have dormitory-style housing and two will have cells, according to the document written by Michael Ruane, manager of the environmental and special projects division in the county Environmental Management Agency.

“However, no maximum security male inmates will be housed at this facility,” it adds.

Minimum-Security Complex

The document did not rule out putting maximum-security women inmates at Lacy, which is a minimum-security complex. But Roger R. Stanton, Board of Supervisors chairman, said the question of transferring maximum-security women inmates from the main women’s jail in downtown Santa Ana to Lacy “has not been raised” in staff meetings that preceded the proposal.

“Those items that were discussed with regard to the transfer of inmates included assurances from staff that we are not changing, repeat, not changing, the nature of the prisoners at Theo Lacy,” Stanton said.

The purpose of expanding Lacy is to get additional jail beds, an objective that has preoccupied the supervisors since a federal judge found them and Sheriff Brad Gates in contempt of court two years ago for not ending overcrowding at the main men’s jail in Santa Ana.

Lacy and another branch jail near El Toro have been expanded since then, some inmates have been released early and others who were arrested were turned away at the jail with citations ordering them simply to appear in court for trial.

But a year ago Gates said he needed 300 more maximum-security beds immediately. Only the main jails are rated maximum-security, the branch jails being minimum-security institutions.

County officials said they could get the 300 maximum-security beds by putting men in the women’s jail, transferring most women to the new buildings at Lacy and putting maximum-security women inmates in the Intake and Release Center when it opens next to the main jail this summer.

Steve Blaylock of the county General Services Agency said transferring women from the Santa Ana jail to the new buildings at Lacy is a “possible thought” but “that has not been determined positively.”

Ruane and Blaylock noted that it is up to the sheriff to classify inmates and determine where they will await trial or serve their sentences.

Ruane’s document was given to the City of Orange for its comments, beginning a two-week period in which members of the public can file their thoughts on the planned expansion with the county. After two weeks the document and the comments go to the Board of Supervisors for their decision on whether to proceed with the expansion.

To make room for the new buildings, the county’s communications center will be transferred to a Santa Ana Mountains site and a volunteer fire station will be shifted within what is known as the Manchester Avenue complex. The complex includes the jail, Juvenile Hall, an animal shelter and the Orangewood Home for mistreated or abandoned children.

A 1,400-space parking structure will also be built at the site, Ruane said.

“Present security will be maintained during construction,” the document states. “When completed, the project will provide enhanced security through design features incorporated into the new structures, improved perimeter security and appropriate facility staffing.”

Supervisor Don R. Roth, whose district includes Lacy, estimated the cost of the expansion at $30 million, with up to $25 million available in state funds.