Judge Gives Blessing on Agreement to Cut Crowding at 5 Jails

Crowding will gradually be eliminated and every inmate will be given a bed at the five outlying San Diego County jails under an agreement approved Thursday by a Superior Court judge, who said she believes the settlement will go far toward easing tensions between inmates and sheriff’s deputies.

“I will approve this settlement,” said Judge Barbara T. Gamer. “I think it’s a good one that recognizes the rights of the inmates to fundamental fairness and due process, but which also recognizes the very serious constraints under which the county operates.”

The agreement, which calls for phased-in inmate reduction levels over the next several years and an improved inmate grievance procedure, was also hailed by Sheriff’s Department officials and representatives of the ACLU, which filed the complex lawsuit over alleged inhumane conditions in the jails.

“This is going to have a dramatic effect on how deputy sheriffs do their job and their interaction with inmates,” said Sheriff’s Cmdr. Melvin Nichols. “That is the real net gain we get with this settlement.”

The First Step

Alex Landon, a criminal defense attorney who worked with the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in representing inmates in the lawsuit, said the settlement was the first step toward returning inmate populations at all five jails to realistic levels.

“This agreement reasonably addresses the issues,” he said. “In the short run, it addresses the floor-sleeping issue. And, in the long run, it addresses our overall concerns about overcrowding.”

The lawsuit, filed in July, 1987, against the county, was scheduled for a lengthy trial next month. But, under the settlement, the trial will be averted. And the practice of forcing inmates to sleep on crowded cell floors, some of them next to and under toilets, will be eliminated next month.

“That in itself is a major victory,” said Betty Wheeler, ACLU legal director.

Copies of the settlement terms were posted in the jails, and three letters from inmates were presented to the judge, in which prisoners objected to parts of the agreement.

‘Overcrowding Creates Tension’

However, one of the letters, signed by 26 inmates in the Descanso honor camp, indicated that the crowding will end none too soon.

“Overcrowding creates tension with inmates and staff alike, causing riots (and) unnecessary and harsh punitive action by staff,” the letter said. “Fights break out in unusually large proportion because of the tension. Much of the injury and bloodshed goes unreported.”

The agreement sets specific inmate levels at each of the jails:

- The Vista jail, now closed for expansion, will have an inmate population of 937 when the expansion is completed in May. That limit will be maintained until June 30, 1991, when it will drop to 886 prisoners.

- The Las Colinas women’s facility, which also is being expanded, will hold no more than 497 inmates when the construction work is completed in January. On Thursday, there were 479 inmates in Las Colinas, including 108 floor-sleepers.

- The number of inmates at the El Cajon jail will be capped at 251 by July 1, 1990. The facility housed 727 inmates on Thursday, 244 of them sleeping on the floor.

- The South Bay jail will be restricted to 373 prisoners by July 1, 1990. The facility on Thursday contained 890 inmates, including 51 floor-sleepers.

- The Descanso honor camp will be limited to 440 inmates by July 1, 1990. The jail on Thursday housed 514 inmates, all of them with beds.

Officials said the new inmate reduction levels will be accomplished by the Vista and Las Colinas expansions, along with the opening of a 1,200-bed jail on East Otay Mesa in 1990. In addition, future jail sites are expected to follow in wake of the passage last June of Proposition A, under which $1.6 billion will be raised to meet the county’s jail and court needs over the next 20 years.

New Inmate Grievance System

The settlement also implements a new inmate grievance system. Although the jail staff has not been under any deadlines in investigating inmate complaints in the past, now deputies must review a complaint within 20 calendar days. If a complaint is rejected, the inmate then can pursue his grievance in court.

But the agreement does not affect the Central Jail downtown, which also is terribly overcrowded. The downtown facility housed 1,171 inmates Thursday, although its rated capacity is only 730.

But Cmdr. Nichols said many of the inmates there will be moved to Vista when the expansion is completed in May. “That’s what we’re counting on,” he said.

The agreement does not address the issue of alleged beatings of inmates by deputies.

The letter from the 26 inmates spoke directly about “staff treatment,” saying that, in many cases, inmates are treated like animals.

Relief From Concerns

Landon and others, however, said that, with fewer inmates crammed into premium jail space, the tension will naturally be reduced.

“Relief is always available for these types of concerns,” Landon said. “It will reduce the tension among inmates and allow all of those concerned in the institutions to live in a more even atmosphere,” he said of the agreement.

A second inmate letter sharply criticized the Sheriff’s Department for providing inadequate medical care and allowing many health and safety violations.

“These conditions are spreading diseases,” inmate Michael W. Woodbury wrote. “Fights are breaking out all the time. Blood is being spilled and can spread AIDS virus rampantly. And this condition will cause many serious injuries, and many deaths, and it is too dangerous to let it continue.”

Landon said the easing of crowding will improve the quality of health care for inmates.

“When the institutions are brought down to the new levels, “ he said, “the health issues will be directly or indirectly addressed and those types of problems will be removed. By eliminating the overcrowding, it is our belief the health problems will be addressed.”