Resuming Theo Lacy Project Is Progress : But the County Is Left to Grapple With the Problem of Building a New Major Jail

Finally, the way has cleared to double Theo Lacy Branch Jail, a vitally needed step in expanding Orange County’s capacity to house criminals. After lengthy legal maneuvering, the $60-million expansion is back on track with construction expected to begin again by the end of summer.

The agreement to move ahead with the project took a willingness on the part of the city of Orange and the firm that manages the nearby The City Shopping Center to settle a lawsuit challenging the county’s environmental impact report. What finally brought all parties to the table was a decision by the 4th District Court of Appeal that while the EIR was inadequate, the urgent need for more jail cells dictated that work proceed while the report was being redone.

It cannot be said often enough that the jail situation in Orange County remains deplorable. After years of talk and a court order, the expansion of Theo Lacy from 622 beds to 1,326 is the most major effort toward adding new cells.

The greater issue of building a new jail remains unresolved. The only progress so far this year on that score was a decision made by voters June 5 on what not to do. Wisely, voters rejected a proposal put on the ballot by residents of the Anaheim Hills to force the county to put any new jail in Santa Ana, near court facilities. The plan for a $1-billion jail on the Gypsum Canyon site in east Anaheim technically is still on the books, but the Board of Supervisors is immobilized by the political and fiscal decisions involved. Supervisor Don R. Roth, who represents the Anaheim area, currently is helping to deflect hard decisions by raising hopes that a new jail facility might be built in Riverside County.

In the meantime, thousands of suspected offenders in Orange County are released every year for a lack of cells. And as voters approve ever-tougher sentencing laws, it’s beginning to look as if Orange County’s own life sentence may be to wrestle with the problem of overcrowding.