Supervisors OK Contract for New Jail : Grand Jury Applauded for Inmate-Abuse Study

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a multimillion-dollar construction contract for a new jail in the East Mesa area, which officials hope will help ease inmate overcrowding when it opens in February, 1991.

The board also applauded the county Grand Jury for its report last month documenting assaults by deputies of inmates in the jails and called for continued monitoring of the Sheriff’s Department to assure an end to such behavior.

Board Chairman Susan Golding said the grand jury’s report last month would go a long way to solving many of the problems in the six existing detention facilities, but only if Sheriff John Duffy implements the grand jury’s recommendations and truly reasserts his leadership over his jail staff.

“We should see how well the department can operate under its current procedures,” she said. “A lot can be corrected by proper management.”

Construction Contract Awarded

The board awarded a $51.5-million design/construction contract for the East Mesa jail to Hensel Phelps Construction Co., and appropriated an initial $5.9 million for the first phase of construction. The new facility is to be located near the U.S.-Mexican border 7 miles east of Interstate 805.

The total cost for the jail is projected at $79.7 million. The money to build the new jail is to come from several sources, including the county’s general fund, proceeds from the sale of county property at Vauclain Point in Hillcrest, and state bond funds.

Supervisor Leon Williams, who was in Sacramento on Tuesday for legislative business, issued a statement criticizing the awarding of the contract because Hensel Phelps’ bid included a low level of participation by minorities and women. He instead called for a two-week delay in awarding the contract to allow officials more time to review the matter.

“I am very disappointed to see the construction contract awarded to a company proposing only 1.9% minority participation when the board had clearly identified a 10% standard for this project,” Williams said.

“While the construction of new jail facilities is critical, we have to ensure that we are not fast-tracking minority- and women-owned businesses right out of the process.”

Minority Representation

The county’s chief administrative officer, however, recommended Hensel Phelps be awarded the contract after it pledged to increase its minority participation in the project through the use of subcontractors during the design and construction phases of the project.

And the board, in approving the contract, called for bimonthly reports from Hensel Phelps on the status of their attempts to increase minority participation.

During review of the grand jury report, Golding noted that the supervisors could not dictate how Duffy manages the jail. But she stressed that the board could influence the sheriff’s leadership style by controlling his budget, particularly when taxpayers’ money is lost in suits filed by inmates who are assaulted by deputies.

“That certainly eats up county funds that could be used for other purposes,” she said. “So we cannot sit idly by.”

She said all county officials should be concerned about improving the public’s perception of the Sheriff’s Department and allaying fears of some citizens that they will be hurt by deputies if they are stopped for even minor offenses.

Grand Jury Confirmed Assaults

“We cannot sit by and allow the people of our community to be concerned about what would happen if they’re picked up for a traffic ticket and then mistreated,” she said.

The grand jury, in its report issued March 21, confirmed that jail inmates had been assaulted and harassed by deputies, that there were internal cover-ups within the Sheriff’s Department to hide the abuses, and that Duffy and his top command allowed many of the abuses to occur unchecked.

The report also verified the existence of a “Rambo Squad” of deputies who terrorized inmates in the El Cajon Jail, and stated that many deputies found a “delight in cruelty to others.”

Duffy did not attend Tuesday’s board meeting, despite an invitation from Golding to appear.

Pledged to Implement Findings

However, the sheriff issued a written statement last week in which he agreed with the grand jury’s findings and pledged to implement many of the panel’s findings. He also suggested in his statement that more county funds would help bring about some of the changes.

But Golding disagreed.

“Money is not the answer to most of the problems,” she said. “It is a matter of proper leadership and following policies and procedures.”

Supervisor John MacDonald said the sheriff can help correct past abuses by changing the way deputies perform their jobs in the jails. He also suggested that deputies change the way they view prisoners.

“It’s our responsibility to find the money to support the sheriff’s operation,” he said. “But I don’t think money alone will solve the problems. There are attitudinal changes that need to be made too.”