⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 5 findings
F1
The jail facility, built in 1963, was designed to house a maximum of 47 inmates. In 1960, the population of Calaveras County was 10,200. In January of 1992, a court order increased the maximum jail population to 65. The population of the County in 1990 was 31,998. The 2000 census reports the County population as 40,554. The Chamber of Commerce projects that population in 2005 will be 43,500. The Sheriff’s Office estimates an increase of population on weekends and holidays to 80,000- 100,000, with an increase to 120,000 on Frog Jump weekend. The jail capacity remains at 65. With the population growth of Calaveras County in recent years, crime has increased, including an increase of misdemeanor offenses as it becomes widely known that little, if any, time will be spent in jail because of capacity limits. At 5:00 pm each day many inmates are released. Statistics indicate that early release encourages repeat offenses, as offenders know that little time will be served. Time not served in the first three and a half months of 2005 amounts to almost 18 years, with 180 inmates released prematurely due to jail over-crowding. The total unserved jail time in 2004 was 52 years. Taxpayer’s money is wasted by the court’s sentencing of convicted offenders to jail terms that will not be served because of the over-crowded jail. Recidivism continues to be a problem in Calaveras County.
F2
The intake entrance to the jail is a wide-open, unsecured area. There are many other public buildings close by, as well as a large parking lot in which someone could hide. If an inmate were to try and escape, it would put many innocent people in harm’s way. This open area is also the route used by jail staff when escorting inmates to court, again causing a high-security risk to inmates as well as staff. Calaveras is the only county in California that does not have secure, indoor access from jail to court.
F3
There was one negative finding in the Fire/Life Safety Report, regarding Section 1207.5, Article 11, California Code of Regulations, Title 15, which states, “An additional mental health screening will be performed, according to written procedures, on women who have given birth within the past year and are charged with murder or attempted murder of their infants. Such screening will be performed at intake and, if the assessment indicates postpartum psychosis, a referral for further evaluation will be made.” Although a Registered Nurse examines all inmates upon intake, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department does not have a written policy in place to meet the requirement of Section 1207.5.
F4
The Grand Jury inspected the jail library and found it stocked with a variety of books as well as with an up-to-date law library.
F5
The kitchen is clean and well run, and it should be noted that it continues to pass all health inspections with high marks. In fact, its scores are generally higher than many restaurants in the county. The kitchen is staffed by low-risk inmates who wear blue uniforms. Inmates wearing orange uniforms, which are used for the 13 general population, or those wearing red uniforms, which indicates a high-risk prisoner, are not allowed to work in the kitchen. Commendation The food service manager, who has served the county jail for 16 years, is to be commended. It is generally held that good prisoner behavior is directly related to the quality and presentation of the meals that are served. Reponses Requested No response required GENERAL FINDING The Grand Jury’s tour of the facility exposes, once more, several troubling issues due to the number of convicted criminals who returned to our communities without completing their sentences. There is a clear and present danger to the citizens of Calaveras County. We are concerned with the revolving door that exists due to jail over-population. The crime rate is increasing in many of our communities and, at present, neither the Sheriff’s Department nor the Board of Supervisors has offered any adequate solutions. The age of the facility has presented issues with meeting current code for public buildings. If this jail had to close or suspend service for any amount of time, current building codes would not allow us to re-open the facility and this County would be left without accommodations for adult offenders. Currently, the inmate holding areas are not designed to accommodate officer or inmate safety. Holding cells in modern jails are equipped with viewing windows which allow for constant inmate monitoring. Our current facility has cells with blind corners requiring guards to risk personal safety in order to monitor inmates. The narrow doorways minimize the guards’ ability to deal with aggressive, hostile, or violent inmates. It is well understood that a new jail facility will present solutions to many of our current concerns; however, there is no Federal, State, or County money currently allocated for a new facility. According to the Sheriff, it will take approximately four to five years for a new facility to be completed and functional after the funding has been secured.
Recommendations 3
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R1Water treatment – Dams in the County are not routinely highly patrolled and could be at risk. They are watched more closely if there is a national terrorist alert.
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R2Government infrastructure – Sites open to the public have varying levels of security protection, and provide key public health and safety services to the community. Local, State and Federal government facilities have been identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as key domestic terrorism targets and have been included in our County terrorist risk assessment plan.
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R3Domestic terrorist acts – Includes explosives and chemicals, including drug labs. Calaveras County is the first rural county to get funded for Hazardous Material (HazMat) response and mitigation. Thirteen to 20 weeks of training over a four-year period is required for each HazMat expert. There are 40 bomb squad accredited counties in California, most of them in urban areas. Calaveras County was bomb squad accredited in 1996. This function is heavily subsidized by the FBI. By agreement, Calaveras County provides bomb squad services to Amador and Tuolumne Counties. All planning, training, and implementation is accomplished with 0.6081% of the total County Budget. OES’s fiscal year 2004-2005 budget was $532,994.00. Some funding is provided by State OES, and grant funds have been obtained from Homeland Security and other sources. The OES Coordinator is continually seeking funding for all mandated planning. All of the participants in the MAC Group should be commended for their dedication to protecting the citizens of Calaveras County. The Coordinator mentioned that they welcome volunteers. (cid:72) (cid:73) 11 CALAVERAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT AND JAIL FACILITY REASON FOR INVESTIGATION Penal code section 919 requires that the Grand Jury inquire annually into the condition and management of public prisons located within the County. PROCEDURES The Grand Jury visited the County jail located in the Government Center on Mountain Ranch Road in San Andreas to observe general conditions, staffing, and inmate procedures. The Grand Jury interviewed the Sheriff’s Department staff, reviewed the 2004 Health and Safety Report, and the 2004 Fire/Life Safety Annual Inspection Report. RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION
Commendations 1
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CM1The food service manager, who has served the county jail for 16 years, is to be commended. It is generally held that good prisoner behavior is directly related to the quality and presentation of the meals that are served. Reponses Requested No response required GENERAL FINDING The Grand Jury’s tour of the facility exposes, once more, several troubling issues due to the number of convicted criminals who returned to our communities without completing their sentences. There is a clear and present danger to the citizens of Calaveras County. We are concerned with the revolving door that exists due to jail over-population. The crime rate is increasing in many of our communities and, at present, neither the Sheriff’s Department nor the Board of Supervisors has offered any adequate solutions. The age of the facility has presented issues with meeting current code for public buildings. If this jail had to close or suspend service for any amount of time, current building codes would not allow us to re-open the facility and this County would be left without accommodations for adult offenders. Currently, the inmate holding areas are not designed to accommodate officer or inmate safety. Holding cells in modern jails are equipped with viewing windows which allow for constant inmate monitoring. Our current facility has cells with blind corners requiring guards to risk personal safety in order to monitor inmates. The narrow doorways minimize the guards’ ability to deal with aggressive, hostile, or violent inmates. It is well understood that a new jail facility will present solutions to many of our current concerns; however, there is no Federal, State, or County money currently allocated for a new facility. According to the Sheriff, it will take approximately four to five years for a new facility to be completed and functional after the funding has been secured.