Gang Sweeps Prompt Call for Jail Expansion

With Los Angeles detention facilities bursting with gang members from recent police sweeps, a City Council panel Monday recommended a major expansion of the Valley Jail.

The Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee sent the $196,000 proposal to add 135 beds to the 290-bed Van Nuys facility to the council and Mayor Tom Bradley for their expected approval.

The expansion was requested by the Police Department, which has attributed jail overcrowding to “the increasing proportion of felony arrests--especially those for narcotics-related violations, which require a longer period of detention than less serious crimes,” according to a report by the city’s chief administrative officer.

“Over the past 10 years, arrests for felonies and narcotics violations have increased by 50% and 75%, respectively,” the report says.

The recent gang sweeps have worsened the problem but have not created it, said Capt. William R. Hall, commanding officer of the Police Department’s Jail Division.

“But when they occur, then the overcrowding becomes more acute,” he said.

After one recent sweep, the Valley Jail housed 360 prisoners, 70 more than the number of available beds, said Lt. Lance Romero, jail supervisor. If no beds are available, prisoners must sleep on mattresses on the floor, he said.

City jails--located at most police stations--are used to hold criminal suspects who have not been arraigned, bailed out or, as in the case of those who commit minor offenses, released on their own recognizance. After arraignment, suspects are moved to county jails.

The Valley Jail is the city’s second largest and the only one with facilities for women prisoners. It is used to relieve crowding at other city jails, including the 442-bed facility in Parker Center downtown.

Hall said he does not believe that the crowding poses legal problems for the city. He said the Police Department has pushed for the expansion for humane and sanitary reasons.

“It’s just not the sort of thing we expect in this country,” he said, referring to prisoners sleeping on mattresses.

The planned alterations for the Valley Jail include tightening security in an area designed for male trusties, which would provide an additional 100 beds for men. That area is now used for storage. The jail was designed in 1962, before the city transferred responsibility of trusties to the county.

The women’s section would expand by converting unused exercise and dining areas into a 35-bed dormitory.

To relieve overcrowding, the Police Department also recently opened a 47-bed jail at its Rampart Division near downtown.