Countywide : County Issue Tent City Jail for Drug Users?

As part of stepped-up enforcement of minor drug offenses, Sheriff John V. Gillespie has proposed housing jail inmates in two to four tents on a military base. This would avoid further crowding of the County Jail. Gillespie is negotiating with the Port Hueneme Naval

Construction Battalion Center to place the tents there. Inmates would be assigned to work on the base and to clean parks and beaches. They would also be required to attend substance-abuse classes or counseling sessions.

Michael D. Bradbury

Ventura County district attorney

“It’s something the sheriff and I had discussed for about six months and researched. As a general concept, I favor it. It would incarcerate people presently avoiding jail time because of overcrowding.

With this halfway-tent approach, we’ll be able to once again place some sanctions on the casual use and possession of drugs. Judges may be more inclined to put people in facilities where they’re working to help clean up and repair the military institution and the highways and beaches. And part of the plan is to provide the inmates with education and treatment. Those are very important goals toward reducing recidivism. Conceptually, I’m very supportive of the project and look forward to hearing more details.”

Richard Bryce

Assistant sheriff in charge of the county’s jail system

“We can’t ignore the fact that there is a serious, ongoing drug problem in the area not being attacked in the case of recreational drug users. They’re the ones who are creating major problems. Because

of them, people make millions of dollars a year and are gaining strength in Columbian drug cartels. We’ve got to find some way to crush the demand. Enforcement will bring people to the realization of what they’re doing. If you saw a doctor or an attorney or a schoolteacher you respect in the newspaper arrested for possession and going to do 30 to 60 days in a drug rehabilitation center, it would shock you into realizing how serious your actions are. People in all walks of life are going to surface into this thing. A law is a law, and it ought to be enforced. . . . If anything, it will help us deal with the overcrowding. Some people in jail facilities now would be transferred to the tents. Hopefully, it would reduce the number of people we ran into in the future.”

Kenneth I. Clayman

Ventura County public defender

“Ithink that what we need for the individual who supposedly uses drugs is more treatment and less incarceration. Loading up the system with more and more cases would lead to an enormous financial

drain. I believe that the project is pursuant to federal funds but that those federal funds would only go to the district attorney’s office. The program would create a need for extra defense lawyers and extra prosecutors. It’s a very expensive undertaking. There’s also a great risk that people will be warehoused and not treated, although the tent city may provide more treatment than other facilities. I’m not sure the whole approach of going after the casual drug user is correct. I’m not sure it’s worth it to criminalize another whole segment of the population.”

Karrol Maughmer

realtor and president, Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce

“Idespise drugs. I would strongly support the sheriff’s plan, assuming the Navy is agreeable to being incarcerated on their premises, because it’s not fair to further crowd the jails. The Navy, I am sure, would

take very good care of the project. The so-called casual drug user is not too likely to be a problem anyway, but I am sure their security would be well enforced. The base borders Oxnard, so it affects both the communities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme. But I think any incarceration of drug abusers is to the benefit of both communities. I can’t imagine that residents would be any more concerned than I am because we have an exceptionally outstanding Police Department in Port Hueneme, and the combination of that and the Navy security would alleviate any concern of residents. I don’t think the impact will even be felt by businesses. I don’t think people will even be aware of it.”