Quelling Inmate Unrest

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials have dealt with gang and racially motivated riots between African American and Latino inmates in their Pitchess Detention Center facilities in Castaic since at least 1988. They have seen the melees used as cover for mass escape attempts, such as the 1995 incident in which 14 inmates temporarily broke out during a riot. And they have very nearly lost control of the situation and the facilities, such as the time in 1996 when there were five straight days of rioting. Less than two weeks ago, there were three straight days of rioting involving up to 900 inmates at a time.

Jail officials seem to know the warning signs of an impending riot. Any time the racial balance in a jail dorm drops below 60-40 is a time when fights may break out, jail officials said. That’s increasingly common now that Latinos outnumber blacks 2-1 at the jails. Even something as seemingly innocent as inmates gobbling up their precious stash of snacks is a sign of trouble brewing, as snacks are one of the first things lost in a riot.

So why, after 12 years, does the department still find it so difficult to prevent or quickly quell the disturbances? Longtime Sheriff Sherman Block eventually declared the problem beyond his control, but more must be expected from the current sheriff, Leroy D. Baca.

Several attempted fixes have failed: moving the instigators out of Pitchess to other jails; separating known leaders from their gangs; shows of force by guards in the jail dorms. Block did ratchet up security with more razor wire, fencing and surveillance.

The short-term solution, however unpalatable and difficult, is the segregation of prisoners by gang affiliation. Sheriff’s officials already do that after rioting, though only for a few days. Gang segregation would have the effect of generally separating Latinos from African Americans, but if the gangs define themselves in large part by ethnicity and race, what is the logical alternative?

The long-term solution is to restructure the huge inmate dormitories (originally built to house minor offenders) into smaller and more manageable units that are more easily guarded. New and more practical high-security facilities for more serious criminals are also necessary.

Baca should press for this, and the supervisors should support him for many reasons: potentially huge legal liabilities, the probability of escalating violence and the fact that the jails are becoming a breeding ground for race hatred that surely won’t end when these inmates have served their time and are released.

If the jails are not brought under control, more than the inmates will suffer.