Gates Cites ‘Alarming’ Inmate Increase, Fears Topping Jail Limit

An expected but nonetheless “alarming” increase in the county’s jail population underscores the need for a new facility and jeopardizes chances of meeting an April 1 deadline to reduce overcrowding in the main jail, according to Sheriff Brad Gates.

In a letter to the Board of Supervisors this week, Gates said the average daily inmate population for the jail system last month was 3,146, an increase of 247 over January of 1985.

In the main men’s jail in Santa Ana, the number of inmates reached a high Feb. 3 of 1,480, only 20 below the limit set last year by a federal judge who found Gates and the supervisors in criminal contempt for not ending jail overcrowding.

Other inmates are housed at the James A. Musick Honor Farm in El Toro and the Theo Lacy branch jail in Orange.

“While the court mandates are being met, the central jail is facing another population ceiling . . . of 1,400 inmates by April 1, 1986,” Gates said.

“Our position is even more tenuous when considering the alarming increase in the inmate population.”

Cited for Contempt

Last March, U.S. District Judge William P. Gray convicted Gates and the supervisors of criminal contempt of court for not heeding his 1978 order to reduce congestion in the jail.

A year ago the main jail population was 2,000. Gray ordered that it be cut to 1,500 by Dec. 1 but later granted a delay until Jan. 15. He said the number had to be reduced to 1,400 on April 1.

The January increase in inmates at the main jail had been expected because judges imposing sentences in December traditionally allow low-risk offenders to remain free on bail until after the holidays.

“It has become increasingly apparent that our ability has diminished to continue compliance with the court’s mandates and reduce jail overcrowding under current conditions,” Gates said in his letter.

“The temporary solutions employed have been effective; however, timely provisions for new facilities should have already been made.”

The Board of Supervisors has not yet begun the lengthy process of building a new jail. It has not chosen a site. When it does, it will take years to prepare environmental impact reports and build the new facility.

A “temporary solution” referred to by Gates that has already lasted longer than expected was the installation of four tents to hold 320 inmates at the Musick facility, which is also the site of modular units that opened last month to house up to 409 inmates.

Norb Puff, an analyst in the county administrative office, said Friday that “the tents are full, along with the modulars, so we’re going to have to keep them until we see a reduction in that population.”

Continued Need Seen

Puff said it’s not known when the “bulge” in post-holiday inmates will decline. Even when it does, he said, at least two of the tents are likely to be needed awhile.

Gray last year also fined the county and directed that some of the money be used to pay for a monitor of jail conditions. He appointed Lawrence G. Grossman as monitor.

Grossman said in a report this week that the number of prisoners is expected to be lower this month but that there is cause for concern.

“Additional beds are needed to meet the present population crunch,” Grossman wrote in the latest of his periodic reports to Gray. “New jails are needed for housing present and future offenders.”

And the monitor stressed that “it is absolutely mandatory” that a new unit at the Theo Lacy facility in Orange be ready before April 1, when the new deadline takes effect.

But recent delays in building the 180-inmate facility at Lacy has put the April 1 completion date in doubt, according to Puff and Sheriff’s Department officials, who say the building might not open until several days later.