Countywide : Judges Urge Speed in Building New Jail

The presiding judges of Ventura County’s Superior and Municipal courts have asked county supervisors to quickly move ahead with plans to build new jail facilities.

In a joint letter to the board, Judges Steven Z. Perren and Bruce A. Clark say that “time is of the essence” in addressing overcrowding at the existing Ventura County Jail because the situation threatens to force the release of criminals prematurely.

The supervisors approved construction of a new jail near Santa Paula in 1990, and are now considering a detailed environmental study of the site that they must certify before construction can begin.

About 300 people turned out Wednesday for a hearing on the proposed jail and many speakers urged the board to abandon the Santa Paula location.

However, the judges said in a letter dated Wednesday that they want to see progress toward jail construction so that court sentences “are not made meaningless and hollow by a lack of adequate jail space.” They did not specifically mention the Santa Paula proposal.

“We do not want to see credibility in our justice system eroded as it has been in other locations due to a lack of jail facilities,” the judges wrote.

“In order to continue punishing (criminals) and in view of the continued growth of the jail population, time is of the essence in addressing this issue,” the judges said.

A preliminary environmental study of the 752-bed first phase of the Santa Paula jail found few problems with the location.

A second, more detailed study is now under consideration. A final decision may occur within six weeks, officials have said.

Officials say the new jail is needed because existing lockups can handle less than one-third of the 3,500 inmates projected for this county in the year 2010. The existing County Jail consistently houses double its 440-inmate capacity.