ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Jail-Go-Round: In, Out and About

The crisis over Orange County’s overcrowded jail system seems to be escalating by the day, with no solution in sight. Last week, lawyers for inmates filed another legal action charging that the county, in effect, had engaged in a shell game. They accused Sheriff Brad Gates of, in effect, stashing prisoners in four smaller jails in order to comply with a federal order to reduce overcrowding at Santa Ana men’s jail. Meanwhile, the sheriff has been battling in frustration with the Board of Supervisors over the overcrowding issue.

Bringing these jails under a similar “cap” order would reduce the current capacity by about 1,200. Although about 400 would be recouped with the expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail, that still would force the sheriff to release even more prisoners than he is now. Because of overcrowding last year, about 50,000 prisoners were either cited and released, or allowed to leave jail after they had completed 90% of their sentences.

Municipal judges are outraged over this latest legal maneuver by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of inmates. They are already frustrated with Gates’ “cite and release” program and other measures he’s taking to abide by the 1978 federal court order on jail overcrowding. Ironically, although the ACLU and Gates aren’t normally allies, the ACLU is asking the federal court to permit--and in some cases even mandate--Gates to release certain prisoners as a way of protecting the sheriff from judicial wrath. That’s because some judges have threatened to cite Gates for contempt if he releases prisoners they want kept in jail. Adding to the controversy, there was an uproar last week over the release of 33 prisoners who had been arrested on bench warrants for failing to appear in court. The judges rightly are furious over this, an outrage that gives a whole new meaning on the notion that the criminal justice system is nothing but a “revolving door.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors does nothing. Supervisor Don R. Roth, who has led the anywhere-but-here effort to build a jail outside Orange County, lamented last week that if the ACLU’s latest request were granted, it would “add kerosene to an already burning fire.” But who started the fire? The board has been immobilized over the jail issue. It has ducked the tough question of where a new jail should be built and has failed to offer leadership toward building public support for its funding.

Gates recently warned that the community was at risk because of the numbers of prisoners he is releasing. Is anybody listening?