S.D. to Boost Jail Security in Wake of 13-Man Escape

In the aftermath of San Diego County’s biggest jailbreak, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to install exterior cameras and make other security improvements at County Jail in Chula Vista.

At the urging of Supervisor Brian Bilbray, whose district includes Chula Vista, the five-member board approved spending $103,000 to put alarms and wire screens on the jail’s windows and to install security cameras. The money will also be used to better light jail grounds.

Last Wednesday, 13 inmates escaped from the jail by sawing through steel bars with hacksaws smuggled in through an open window, authorities said. Seven of the inmates--three of whom are suspected of murder--have yet to be recaptured.

The South Bay jailbreak, coupled with a string of recent escapes from the poorly built El Cajon jail, also spurred board Chairman Leon Williams to draft a proposal asking sheriff’s deputies working in the jails to identify and evaluate potential security deficiencies at all county detention facilities.

Williams’ proposal, which also passed unanimously, directs the Sheriff’s Department to recommend steps the county can take to reduce the chance of jailbreaks.

“This action will help us anticipate as much as we possibly can,” Williams said.

Officials hope that such a priority list will help identify security problems--such as those that contributed to the South Bay escape--that otherwise might go undetected.

Although problems at the El Cajon jail have been well documented--inmates have been able to escape from the facility by kicking holes through the walls--officials say they were unaware of security deficiencies at the South Bay jail.

Investigators have determined that someone lowered hacksaws by rope from a public walkway 15 feet above one of the jail’s windows. Authorities agree that without the hacksaws, the inmates could not have escaped from the jail, considered to be one of the county’s more secure facilities.

The Sheriff’s Department had earlier requested wire mesh to cover the windows, but the request had gone unanswered because it was identified not as a necessary security improvement, but as a means of preventing pigeons from perching on the windows.

Robert Griego, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer, who oversees the general services department, said that if the need for wire mesh had been given “higher priority,” he may have been able to persuade the county to finance such improvements.

“Prioritizing security deficiencies should ensure that we get the appropriate responses from all government agencies,” Griego said. “Hopefully, we can avoid a replay” of the jailbreak.

Griego said the general services department is seeking a contractor to carry out the security improvements in the South Bay. The improvements should be completed about 90 days after a contractor is picked. Griego said he does not know where the financially beleaguered general services department will find the money to pay for the improvements.

“That hasn’t been identified yet,” Griego said. “I suppose we’ll have to cancel some future projects.”

Meanwhile, Assistant Sheriff Ken Wigginton said the department has temporarily hired private security guards to patrol the outside of the El Cajon and South Bay jails.

But county officials reiterated their frustration Tuesday at an inability to tackle the jails’ most serious problems: too many prisoners, not enough deputies.

“The real problem is still staffing,” said Supervisor Susan Golding. “And that can only be resolved with money . . . money that San Diego County does not have.”

Addressing concerns raised by his constituents, Bilbray asked that the work schedule of sheriff’s deputies assigned to the jails be reviewed. He said he is concerned that deputies’ shifts may be too long and affect performance.

According to Wigginton, deputies in the jails work the following schedule: five 12-hour days, followed by five days off; then two 12-hour days, followed by two days off. The schedule then repeats.

Although Wigginton said the department would be willing to reevaluate deputies’ hours, he said understaffing necessitates such a schedule. He said the schedule also allows deputies a block of time away from the stressful job.

“The deputies did have 8 1/2-hour days, but would end up working 10- to 12-hour days anyway because we’re so understaffed,” Wigginton said. “They also had two days off, but would often get called in on one of those two days. That’s why we switched. We believe the current schedule is better.”

Sheriff’s Department officials consider escapee Christopher Bell, 21, the most dangerous of the seven men still at large. Bell is charged with robbery and assault and is considered the key suspect in the October slaying of a La Mesa man who was kidnaped at an automatic teller machine and slain execution-style.

Authorities also describe escapees Audias Gomez, 36, and Sergio Martinez, 22--awaiting trial on murder charges--as “very dangerous.”