Judge Orders County to Deal With Overcrowded Jails

The judge in charge of monitoring conditions at San Diego County jails said Tuesday he was concerned by ongoing overcrowding and told county officials it had to stop. He also urged the county to do what needs to be done to open a brand-new jail.

El Cajon Superior Court Judge James Malkus set a March 17 hearing for county officials to explain what it will take to staff the maximum-security, 1,500-bed East Mesa jail. The facility has been sitting empty for months because the county says it doesn’t have the money to staff it.

Malkus monitors the county’s six jails for men as a result of two lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Despite court-ordered caps on inmate populations, jails in El Cajon and South Bay have almost constantly been overcrowded in recent months. On Tuesday, for instance, the El Cajon jail was jammed with 312 inmates, 61 over the court-imposed limit of 251. The South Bay facility held 433 inmates Tuesday, 60 over the limit of 373.

“Obviously we’re concerned that the spirit of the court order is being violated,” said Alex Landon, a volunteer ACLU attorney who has been active in both lawsuits. “It is our intention to work with the court and (county officials) to ensure that the court orders are complied with.”

County staffers estimated in a report filed Jan. 21 with the County Board of Supervisors that it would cost $3.235 million to open and run the East Mesa facility for the rest of fiscal 1992, which ends June 30. The new jail is located near the U.S.-Mexico border about 7 miles east of Interstate 805.

It would take 60 days to hire workers, so the facility couldn’t even begin operating until April 1 at the earliest, according to the report.

Beginning in fiscal 1993, the full cost of running the jail is projected at $26.9 million, the report said. The county just doesn’t have that much money and would find itself $5.6 million short, the report said.

The Board of Supervisors, which was due Tuesday to discuss the report, put that business off until today. County Counsel Lloyd Harmon briefed the board during a closed session Tuesday on Malkus’ action.

The county operates jails for men in downtown San Diego, Vista, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Santee and East Mesa. A 500-bed medium-security facility at East Mesa is open but the 1,500-bed jail is not.