LA PALMA, BUENA PARK : Local Jail Puts More Money on the Books

Police will begin booking most prisoners at the Buena Park Jail next week rather than driving 32 miles round trip to County Jail in Santa Ana.

The city councils of La Palma and Buena Park approved a joint agreement this week that will allow La Palma to book healthy male prisoners in the newly renovated Buena Park Jail. The agreement is expected to save La Palma about $12,600 a year and bring in $19,000 a year to Buena Park.

All of the La Palma Police Department’s prisoners are now driven to the county jails in Santa Ana, Chief David Barr told the City Council on Tuesday. By taking prisoners to the Buena Park jail instead, the city will save $63 a prisoner and allow officers to return to duty much faster, Barr said.

The Buena Park City Council approved the agreement Monday.

La Palma pays the county $158 for each jailed prisoner, Barr said, amounting to about $30,000 a year. Buena Park will charge the city $95 a prisoner, he said.

The Buena Park jail does not have the capability to house women, children or prisoners requiring medical attention, Buena Park Police Chief Richard M. Tefank said.

Buena Park renovated its jail last summer after the county increased the amount it charges cities to book inmates at the jail, Lt. Richard Ciampa said. The city hired two more jailers and now has four cells for prisoners awaiting court arraignment and one large cell for people being detained temporarily, Ciampa said.

The move has saved Buena Park $65,000 in booking fees so far, Tefank said.

Buena Park will not be contracting with other cities for jail space, Tefank said. Its jail has room for only 12 men awaiting a court appearance and eight, usually drunk-driving suspects, waiting a few hours for release, Tefank said.

If the Buena Park jail is filled to capacity, which occasionally occurs, La Palma will have to transport prisoners to the county jails as before, Tefank said.