Filling the Empty East Mesa Jail : Leasing space to Orange County is appealing, but only on a short-term basis

The idea of Orange County leasing space in San Diego County’s newly built but nearly empty East Mesa jail has considerable short-term appeal. It might help both counties temporarily ease their jail crises.

San Diego County has one of the nation’s most crowded urban jail systems. Its six jails are under a court-ordered limit of 3,685 inmates--one frequently violated--and that’s about 1,200 more than they were built to house. Meanwhile, a 1,500-bed maximum-security jail and part of a medium-security jail sit empty, because of insufficient operating funds.

Orange County has about 4,400 inmates in a system designed for 3,208, and it has a court-ordered cap at its Central Men’s Jail. Attempts to find a site for a new jail have thus far failed.

Leasing beds could be a quick way for Orange County to get temporary jail space and could provide San Diego with the revenue to open additional beds for San Diego inmates.

But, even if Orange County can find the money, and that is a serious question, such an unusual arrangement doesn’t solve either county’s long-term jail problems.

San Diego County could easily fill the jail today. And the county estimates that it will need 21,000 more beds by 2007. Orange County projects a possible shortage of 5,000 beds by 2007. Stopgap measures such as expanding the Theo Lacy Branch Jail and leasing beds from San Diego will not eliminate the need for a new jail.

The lease proposal will take much negotiation. It would be a mistake to take up Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates’ suggestion that all 1,500 beds be leased for five years. The judge overseeing San Diego County’s jail system would be unlikely to approve a lease of all beds. And, no matter how many beds were leased, the agreement would have to be flexible enough to allow San Diego to retrieve the beds when it has the money to operate them.

The arrangement will create hardships for the families and attorneys of Orange County inmates, another reason for it to be a short-term solution. But the distances would be no greater than what some families must travel in San Bernardino County or even parts of San Diego County. And public safety needs and the rights of prisoners to humane conditions should override that inconvenience.

With both counties facing budget deficits and strong voter resistance to new taxes, this leasing arrangement deserves serious consideration. It makes no sense to have a modern jail sit empty while others are dangerously crowded and criminals who should be in jail are released.