Solutions for Jail Violence Stay Elusive

A series of violent brawls last week among hundreds of inmates at the Pitchess jail has cast a spotlight on the vexing political, economic and racial problems plaguing the Los Angeles County’s jail system, and authorities concede there are no solid solutions in sight.

Even with advance warning, sheriff’s officials were unable to prevent the outbreak of violence Wednesday among 1,800 inmates--the most in the facility’s history--when Latino inmates attacked African Americans throughout the sprawling jail’s dormitories. The fights continued in following days, leaving 162 injured and tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

The Castaic jail remained locked down Saturday, but no additional outbreaks were reported.

Sheriff’s officials have said that overcrowding and the “three strikes” law are underlying factors in the seemingly endless series of melees.

Civil libertarians, who monitor the inmates’ living conditions, and sheriff’s officials contend that the situation has not reached a crisis level because they have not lost complete control of the jail and deputies have been able to quell the fights.

Yet once again, they find themselves searching for solutions to entrenched problems, which they acknowledge have grown worse over the years.

Meetings are planned this week between attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Sheriff’s Department.

“We’re going to have to discuss, as we always do, how to figure out a resolution,” said Silvia Argueta, a staff attorney for the ACLU. “There may not be one, but at least we can figure out ways to make things better.”

Trying to find a way to end the fighting at Pitchess is nothing new. In the past the Sheriff’s Department has consulted outside experts about ways to stem the racial violence, discussed segregating the jail with the ACLU, and enlisted the help of black and Latino church leaders.

But at nearly every turn new problems have cropped up, including the growing power state prison gangs are suspected of exercising over county jail inmates.

“I’m not saying there’s no solution, but I’m not confident when you have a prison gang calling the shots that there is a great deal you can do other than to react,” said Mark Squiers, chief of the Sheriff’s Department’s Custody Division.

One option that has been discussed and will be considered again, said Argueta, is bringing conflict resolution consultants to talk to inmates. “Usually the flare-ups occur because of minor things that just escalate into a full--blown brawl,” Argueta said. But this approach is unlikely to work, some believe.

Punishing inmates appears to have done little to deter the brawling. After the outbreak of fighting Wednesday, the jail was locked down. Television, mail, telephone and other privileges were canceled. Despite those limitations, at least 15 more melees erupted over the next three days.

Interracial battles are common to nearly all jails and prisons, but a combination of factors makes Pitchess unique and helps explain the greater frequency and magnitude of the fights there.

Among the problems, say sheriff’s officials and jail experts, are the increasingly violent nature of offenders, a shift in racial dominance and the size of the dormitories.

When problems arise at the Men’s Central Jail in Downtown Los Angeles, sheriff’s deputies are able to quickly contain fights because inmates are housed in smaller cells, which restrict their movements.

By contrast, many Pitchess inmates live in 125-man dormitories, which are difficult to lock down because a large group of combatants are cooped up in one room. Jail experts have said that such layouts are fertile ground for racial tensions and rioting.

Alvin J. Bronstein, a former director of the National Prison Project of the ACLU, said dormitories should only be used to house minimum security inmates who have already been sentenced. Otherwise, he said, “You don’t know who you have there. It’s almost impossible to separate the predators.”

Pitchess jail was originally built to house misdemeanor and low-level felony offenders, but over the years it has undergone a dramatic change. Budget cuts have forced the Sheriff’s Department to close four jails, triggering massive overcrowding throughout the jail system.

The “three strikes” law has further taxed the jails, with inmates more inclined to go to trial rather than plea-bargain with prosecutors and accept a conviction, leading to a concentration of violent felony offenders staying at Pitchess as they await trial.

Besides becoming more violent over the years, Pitchess inmates have also undergone a change in demographics. African American prisoners are outnumbered 45% to 35% by Latinos. The change has spawned a race war as the two groups fight for control of life inside the jail.

Over the years the fighting between black and Latino inmates has escalated from sporadic scuffles to organized violence. Squiers said he believes last week’s fights were probably ordered by state prison gangs.