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JAIL San Diego Style by Ben McLaughlin

Reprinted from Law Enforcement Quarterly
Fall 1997

Unfortunately the jail business is a growth industry in California. In San Diego County, the jail system's inmate population has grown 400 percent in 20 years, while the number of Board of Corrections rated beds has grown by only 280 percent.

While we have made great strides locally in providing adequate facilities for our expanding prisoner population, demographics and forces beyond local control are driving us to plan for inevitable jail bed expansion.

Lt. Felix Bustamante is one of two watch commanders presiding over the organized chaos on the first floor of CDF Amazingly, with the volume of inmates being processed in and out of the facility, few errors are made. Although the count remains fairly steady at 750, many more inmates are processing through.

Future Need

The Sheriff estimates this county may require 2,000 additional jail beds by the year 2005 - provided we do not have state prison inmates "re-directed" to county jails as a result of the state's own prisoner glut.

The California Department of Corrections (CDC) predicts it will exceed its rated capacity by more than 75,000 convicts in less than six years. Currently, CDC is operating at about 92% of its inmate capacity. In two years, it is estimated, that population will exceed capacity by 10,738 prisoners. By 2003, absent new construction, the state inmate population is estimated to exceed capacity by 75,485 prisoners.

Where will they all go?

If one of two pending bills pass in the legislature, there are some 2,000 state prison inmates who could be returned to San Diego County over the next couple of years.

Additionally, "three strikes" is challenging jail and prison administrators. On a daily average, the jail system now has 72 more "three strike" bodies, and 150 more "second strikers.

The result is that "Three Strikes" is doing what it was designed to do: lock up habitual criminals for a long time.

Meeting the challenge!

Because of chronic overcrowding, the jail system is currently operating under court-ordered population limits in five of its seven facilities. To meet the cap, the county agreed in settlement of a 1977 lawsuit not to accept misdemeanor prisoners, with a few exceptions: drunk drivers and domestic violence cases.

In addition, the jails maintain a population balance through innovative early-release programs, including releasing inmates on electronic surveillance, work release and work furlough programs.

However, plans to meet these challenges now being considered or under way include:

	Using the old temporary jail for men at Las Colinas, adding a potential 240 beds
	Fully develop East Mesa, adding 2,800 beds
	Build "George Bailey II," including the city jail, for an addition of 1,200 beds
	Squeezing more out of the old Central Detention Facility, adding 500 beds

Last year, more than 111,000 people were booked into the jail system. With an average daily population of 5,464 inmates, the San Diego jail system is the second largest in the state, smaller only than that of Los Angeles County.

County jails inmate population

The Sheriff administers all county jails. Jail bookings average 113,000 per year.

Our total expansion potential under these plans is 4,740 beds.

The sheriff is also working with the county's chief administrative officer to develop alternates for the old downtown jail, including leasing the facility to generate revenue for other jail expansion opportunities.

There are additional discussions under way, including addressing the East Mesa facility and various revenue-raising options in order to finance parts of future expansion. In addition, replacing Las Colinas as the primary female reception facility, to provide badly needed additional jail space for women, remains a high priority.

Staffing

Correctional deputies started working in San Diego's jail system in 1988. With 569 correctional deputies and 16 corrections sergeants now employed, there is a natural belief on their part that there should be an equal career path for them.

Paid at a rate lower than their patrol-car driving colleagues, correctional deputies are looked upon as a way to staff jails without incurring the extended training and salary expense of law enforcement deputies.

This issue, hardly unique to San Diego, is now being addressed by Sheriff Kolender, with a recent decision to convert all jail security personnel into corrections deputies, with all ranks eventually being filled by professional corrections specialists.

With the sheriffs department working to cut incarceration costs, meet court-ordered caps, provide the best possible service to law enforcement agencies throughout the county, offer meaningful inmate programs and the highest level of public safety, looking at a potential avalanche of new prisoners is certainly challenging. But I am confident we will meet that challenge and continue to provide the finest of detention services.

Ben McLaughlin is an assistant sheriff on the executive staff of sheriff Bill Kolender. Responsible for all county detention services, McLaughlin is a veteran of 32 years with the S.D. Sheriffs Office.

Reprinted from the Fall 1997 Law Enforcement Quarterly, a publication of the San Diego County Districty Attorney's Office.

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Last Updated 09/22/97