Jails: Yes on J

The Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail, located on the edge of Chinatown near downtown Los Angeles, has 6,755 prisoners. Despite its massiveness, the fortress-like compound has run out of room. The central jail and others in the county system are filled beyond capacity with men and women awaiting their turns in court or serving sentences of less than a year; still the new inmates keep coming.

Proposition J, a $197.5-million county bond measure, would pay for more than 5,000 new beds for adults and juveniles. The additional bunks would ease severe overcrowding. We recommend a Yes vote on Proposition J.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block must hold the jail population to a court-imposed maximum of 22,157, which is nearly double the system’s intended capacity of 13,400. To stay under the limit, the sheriff is giving early releases to prisoners who pose no risk to the community. Men convicted of misdemeanors are going free up to 13 days early, women up to 10 days early.

The sheriff has released more than 23,000 inmates from Los Angeles County jails since May. That number will grow without more jail space. But any escalation in the early-release program, according to the sheriff, would result in freedom for inmates convicted of more serious crimes.

The county’s juvenile-detention centers, designed for 1,300 inmates, now hold 2,000--manyof them accused of gang-related crimes--and the population is still rising.

Although there is no question about the need for more space, there is a big question as to where to put new facilities and where to expand old facilities. The sheriff has suggested using the local bond money in Lynwood, Lancaster and downtown Los Angeles, but the Board of Supervisors has not yet decided where the money would be spent.

If the general-obligation bond issue passes, as we think it should, it would increase taxes on a home valued at $125,000 by $11.84 the first year, $6.75 the second year and decreasing amounts for the remainder of the 20 years that it would take to retire the bonds. The local funds are critical because counties must come up with 25% of the cost of new construction in order to get state financing.

Building more jails isn’t the only way to fight crime. Voters must be as willing to fight the causes of criminal behavior as they are to lock people up. New jails, however, are necessary. Proposition J merits a Yes vote on Nov. 8.