HUNTINGTON BEACH : Jail to House Some Seal Beach Inmates

The city jail, which now houses some County Jail inmates as well as its own local detainees, will also begin accommodating surplus prisoners from the Seal Beach jail when that facility overflows.

Council members this week agreed to allow the Seal Beach Police Department to move inmates to the Huntington Beach city jail whenever necessary.

On occasion, Seal Beach does not have enough officers on duty at its jail to comply with state laws on security and prisoner safety.

In those instances, Seal Beach police will move the excess prisoners to the Huntington Beach city jail, which is larger than Seal Beach’s and typically has plenty of available space.

For each detainee booked and housed overnight at the Huntington Beach jail, Seal Beach will pay the city $125. A $41 fee will be charged for each additional night a prisoner is kept at the Huntington Beach jail.

Huntington Beach Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg said that the city has acquired a waiver of liability for Seal Beach prisoners, and that the additional inmates will not overtax the city jail staff.

Lowenberg said he expects the city will be asked to accept only two or three Seal Beach prisoners per month, and rarely will have to house a detainee for more than a single night.

The agreement signed between the two cities will remain in effect through June 30. At that time, the council may decide to either continue or cancel the program.