Supervisors Back Area’s Request to Build a Jail

In a telling sign of the desperation that drugs and gangs can bring to law-abiding citizens of the inner city, about 100 residents of South-Central Los Angeles came to the county Board of Supervisors on Wednesday with an extraordinary request:

Build a jail in our neighborhood, they asked. Let us make sure criminals won’t be set free simply because of a lack of cells.

“We’ll be very happy to have a jail,” said Jessie Samuel, president of the 102nd Street Block Club, “because we’ve been living in jail for a long time. . . . We would like to sit in our back yard sometime without being chased out. We would like to be able to go to the grocery store without being attacked. We’re afraid to leave home.”

Vote of Support

Responding to their pleas, the supervisors voted their support of state legislation that would fund construction of a courthouse and a 2,000-inmate jail in South-Central. No specific site has been proposed.

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates approached Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who represents South-Central, a year ago with the idea of building a “justice center” in the area. But no action was taken because there was no money available, said Mas Fukai, Hahn’s chief deputy.

“Everybody in the community supports the idea,” Fukai said. “They are sick and tired of being in jail themselves. They have bars on (the windows of) their homes. “

The 100 residents who came to the board’s chambers represented a mixture of block clubs, Neighborhood Watch chapters, community organizations and some who spoke strictly as worried individuals. Four speakers represented the residents before the board.

They told the supervisors that the war against drugs and gangs was being lost because many criminals know that they may never serve any time behind bars because of a shortage of jail space.

‘Afraid to Go to the Store’

“We want something, we don’t want to wait forever,” said Estelle Van Meter, a South-Central resident. “Some of us are even afraid to go to the store.”

Deputy Police Chief William Rathburn, commanding officer of operations of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau, testified as well, telling supervisors: “When we arrest people, there is no place to put them” because of a court-imposed ceiling of 22,000 inmates in County Jail.

As a result, a person sentenced to 37 days or less in County Jail serves one day. Because of jail overcrowding, many of the people arrested during the Police Department’s highly publicized gang sweeps in South-Central Los Angeles have been released on the pledge that they will appear for trial. But many do not, Rathburn said.

“That does nothing to encourage people to come forward and assist us in the future,” Rathburn said.

Courthouse Requested

South-Central residents also asked for a courthouse to go along with the jail. They said it is often difficult for a low-income resident to find transportation to travel downtown to testify in court cases. They also complained that they cannot afford the high cost of parking downtown.

Noting that she recently traveled downtown to testify in a trial, Jackie Calloway, block captain of the 25th Street Block Club, told supervisors: “I had to pay $18 (for parking), and then I didn’t get a chance to testify. They wanted me to come down the next day. It cost me another $9. People cannot afford to do that.”

Rathburn said that a courthouse in South-Central Los Angeles would also help judges and prosecutors better understand the community’s crime problem while enabling residents to monitor the process in order to hold judges and prosecutors accountable for their actions.

Different Reaction

“You’re not going to see the same reaction in South-Central Los Angeles that you have seen in other places over jails,” Rathburn told supervisors. “This community recognizes that we need additional jail space. The criminals are either out on the street or they’re in jail.”

A bill authored by Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes (D-Los Angeles) would double the surcharge on court fines countywide, from $2 to $4, to pay for construction of the proposed South-Central Justice Facility. The legislation is pending in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

The facility is projected to cost $549 million. It would serve the 50-square-mile sector served by the Police Department’s 77th Street, Southeast and Southwest divisions.

Supervisor Deane Dana supported a jail in South-Central Los Angeles, but said that building more jails will not solve the crime problem.

Boot Camps Suggested

He suggested as one solution the development of boot camps “where we can put these people to discipline them.”

“There’s nothing better than getting up at 4 or 4:30 in the morning and starting your day doing KP and marching,” Dana said.

Sheriff Sherman Block said in an interview that he supports the idea of a courthouse and jail under the same roof, such as the one proposed for South-Central Los Angeles, because it reduces difficulties and costs involved in transferring prisoners long distances from the County Jail to outlying courts.

But, he said, “I am skeptical of the state making funding available” for the proposed South-Central facility.

“Certainly, the need is there,” he said. “But the questions remain whether they can find a place in the community where that facility can be built and where the county will find the money to operate it.”

Strong Opposition

While some rural California towns have welcomed the building of state prisons, viewing them as economic boosts, proposals to build state prisons in parts of Los Angeles County, including East Los Angeles and the Antelope Valley, have drawn strong opposition from residents.

Most opponents of jails have expressed concern that the facilities might bring crime, cause property values to decline or otherwise reflect poorly on the image of their neighborhoods.