Jail on Base Property Is Worthy of Study : Proposal Would Close Musick, Build Facility in El Toro

The Orange County Board of Supervisors was wise last week to authorize the study of a new jail at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station after the Marines strike the colors there. The county’s fiscal crisis complicates matters, with sheriff’s spokesmen saying it is too early to tell if future construction projects will be jeopardized. But the county cannot put all planning for its future on hold.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton had proposed shutting the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine and selling it. Proceeds from the sale of the jail and--more interesting for developers--the valuable 100 acres on which it stands, could be used to build a new jail at El Toro.

The Marines are scheduled to leave by 1999, after which the federal government could give the property to the county, meaning the only cost would be for construction. Operating costs at the new jail would probably be much the same as at the old one, and the study will examine that.

Stanton acknowledged that his proposal was preliminary. But it gained support from County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider’s assertion that Musick, which is equipped to hold more than 1,200 minimum-security inmates, was “fast approaching the end of its useful life.”

Stanton’s suggestion was encouraging because it indicated that one of the supervisors was willing to act on the knowledge that the county must seek solutions to its jail overcrowding problem. Supervisor William G. Steiner has also been involved in the jail problem, but has been pressed more to put out fires than plan for the future. It was Steiner who was forced to negotiate a tentative agreement last month with the city of Orange to expand the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange by 1,660 beds. It was a good compromise.

Unfortunately, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley’s initial response to Stanton’s proposal contained more pique than good sense. Riley complained that Stanton should have consulted him first, because the Marine Corps base is in his district.

Riley did change his mind and support Stanton’s proposal, so long as the possibility of building a new Santa Ana jail was considered. Last month the county grand jury recommended building new jails next to Musick and the main jail in Santa Ana.

True, Stanton would be better off politically with a new jail in a district other than his, but that was no reason to reject cavalierly his promising proposal. The federal Bureau of Prisons has indicated its interest in using part of El Toro for a minimum-security prison, suggesting it is feasible to use the land for that purpose. And with 4,700 acres, there is sufficient room for both a jail and a prison. And an airport. And perhaps other facilities. All are worth study.

Orange County residents pride themselves on a conservative penal philosophy that favors locking people up. But no one wants a jail in his or her back yard. Something has to give. Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates has been forced to let tens of thousands of inmates out of jail early because he has no space and a federal court order has barred overcrowding for more than a decade. County officials should put the possibility of building a jail at El Toro at the top of their priority list.