Board OKs Expansion of Orange Jail Facility

Sheriff Brad Gates said Tuesday that Orange County’s jail system is the most overcrowded in the nation as the Board of Supervisors approved the first major jail expansion in a decade.

Orange County’s four adult detention facilities are running nearly 40% above capacity, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Judicial Statistics. Orange County jails were found to have the worst overcrowding of the nation’s 15 largest counties, topping Los Angeles County, Dade County in Florida and all five boroughs of New York City.

The cramped quarters resulted last year in the early release of 32,000 inmates. New statistics from the Sheriff’s Department show that 740 inmates who won early release in 1996, including child abusers, burglars and drunk drivers, went on to commit new crimes before their sentences expired.

“Our community has not kept up with our need for new jail beds while other communities have,” Gates said. “This is a problem we’ve known about for years, and I’m glad we’re finally able to do something about it.”

With the board’s approval Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department plans to add 384 new maximum security jail beds at the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange--only a fraction of the more than 5,000 beds officials said will be needed by 2006.

“This expansion will help us, but not in a significant way,” said Gates, adding that the new beds should allow jailers to keep the most serious offenders incarcerated for greater portions of their sentences.

The Theo Lacy expansion will cost $22 million and be financed largely with revenues from Proposition 172, the statewide half-cent sales tax that benefits law enforcement agencies. Construction is expected to begin next year, and the new beds should be in use by 2000.

The county’s jails were designed for 3,821 inmates but housed an average of 5,326 last year--or 39% over capacity.

By contrast, Los Angeles County’s jails housed an average of 18,627 but operated at 7% below capacity. The jails in Philadelphia house an average of 5,695 inmates, or 2% over capacity.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that San Diego County’s jail operated at 19% over capacity while Santa Clara County’s operated at 12% over capacity.

The figures were taken from June 1996, but sheriff’s officials say they represent the average percentage inmate population over the past year.

“Because the overcrowding led to the early releases, it affects the safety and well being of everybody,” Gates said. “The expression ‘if you do the crime, you serve the time’ does not apply in Orange County.”

The county has been struggling for years to find funding and suitable locations for new jail facilities. The county’s 1994 bankruptcy delayed plans to expand the Theo Lacy Branch Jail, which can hold as many as 1,600 new beds.

Gates said his office is now preparing a 10-year jail financing plan that will estimate the costs of jail expansions. The Sheriff’s Department is planning another 384-bed wing at Theo Lacy once the current expansion is completed.

Supervisors enthusiastically supported Tuesday’s proposal. But some health-care advocates have complained in the past that the board continues to provide the Sheriff’s Department with bountiful resources even though crime in the county has dropped.

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Crowded Conditions

Among the 15 largest jail jurisdictions in the U.S., Orange County’s is the most overcrowded. About 32,000 local inmates obtained early release in 1996 because of inadequate jail space. Here’s how Orange County compared to the 10 largest jurisdictions in June 1996:

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Jurisdiction % Capacity Inmates Orange County 139 5,326 San Diego County 119 5,549 Santa Clara County 112 4,213 Philadelphia 102 5,695 Dade County (Miami), Fla. 100 6,357 New York City 95 19,890 Alameda County 94 3,994 Los Angeles County 93 18,627 Cook County (Chicago), Ill. 91 8,713 Maricopa County (Phoenix), Ariz. 91 5,679

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Source: Bureau of Judicial Statistics