Sheriff Says Residents Put at Risk by Lack of Jail

In a letter to county officials and a federal judge, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates said he has “exhausted every viable alternative” for dealing with jail overcrowding and warned that residents are at risk because the Board of Supervisors has not settled on a plan for building a new jail.

“The future expansion of the Orange County jail system must be expedited,” Gates wrote. “Immediate action must be taken to satisfy the pressing need for bed space.”

The letter and accompanying report, obtained Friday, prodded U.S. District Judge William P. Gray to order Special Master Lawrence G. Grossman to inspect county jails, a task he has undertaken in response to previous concerns.

Since 1978, when the county was successfully sued by inmates complaining of overcrowding, officials have been under Judge Gray’s order to improve conditions.

Grossman has monitored conditions off and on during those years; his findings could return the county to court and could force a new round of court-imposed inmate population limits and possibly fines. The consultant has already begun touring county jails and is expected to report back to the judge by mid-November.

Gates repeated his concerns in an interview Friday, saying jail overcrowding continues to worsen despite varied efforts to control it. “I don’t think there’s any question,” he said. “We’re overcrowded, and we can’t pretend otherwise.”

Inmate population is restricted on two floors of the Santa Ana Men’s Jail to comply with Gray’s 1978 order to relieve its overcrowding. But as a result, Gates said, other county jails are bursting at the seams.

Moreover, that overcrowding is occurring despite a program under which thousands of people charged with crimes--mostly misdemeanors--are cited and released without ever going to jail.

Gates’ report found that the system is running well over capacity, averaging 4,433 inmates in August, despite a rated capacity of just 3,203.

Combined with the inability of the board to agree on a plan for building a new jail, that was enough to trouble Judge Gray.

“It is evident from the sheriff’s letter that the problem will continue to grow until new substantial jail facilities become available for use,” Gray said in his letter requesting Grossman’s assistance. “I am also troubled by the indication in the letter as to the apparent lack of progress toward fulfilling this need.”

Gates has long tried to pressure supervisors to build a new jail.

The recent exchange of letters angered some county officials, who privately complained that Gates had used the letter to the judge to bolster his case for building a jail in Gypsum Canyon, a site east of Anaheim.

However, other officials--especially those who support building a canyon jail--generally supported the sheriff and said Gates was right to share his concerns with Gray.

“I think it’s appropriate for the sheriff to do what he can to make sure we get the facilities as quickly as possible,” Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said. “I don’t take this as an affront to the board at all.”

The sheriff’s letter details much of the background supporting selection of the Gypsum Canyon site and specifies several drawbacks to the only major alternative under discussion, a desert facility near Chiricao Summit in Riverside County.

Supervisor Don R. Roth, the leading proponent of a desert jail, bristled at Gates’ assessment of that proposal and of the board’s efforts to expand the inmate capacity.

“Brad Gates can jump up and down all he wants to, but where’s the money coming from?” Roth asked. “I read the letter, but what can the judge do without sending a check for $1 billion to build in Gypsum Canyon?”

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez agreed, noting that the supervisors approved expanding Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange and building the Intake/Release Center in Santa Ana.

Gypsum Canyon or another maximum-security facility is another matter, however, with cost estimates of up to $1 billion, he said.

According to Roth, a report in progress will also show that planners project an annual operating budget for Gypsum Canyon of $135 million--roughly what the county now spends on the entire yearly budget for the Sheriff’s Department.

Roth insisted that he is not angry with Gates, but the supervisor did express irritation. Supporters of the sheriff have recently been peppering the supervisors with letters asking them to pay Gates’ legal bills--the result of a recent court ruling that found him guilty of improperly issuing permits for concealed weapons.

Roth noted that the letter to the judge is thus just one of two nettlesome problems involving the sheriff.

“Gates has been pretty busy getting letters out,” Roth said wryly. “He’s spending a lot of time down at the post office.”