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Extraído del Informe Consolidado
Esta investigación fue publicada originalmente como parte de un informe consolidado más amplio que contiene múltiples investigaciones. Consulte el PDF consolidado para ver el documento completo.
Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2001-2002
Review of the Blaine Street Women's Facility
⚠️ 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 14 findings
F1
Page 85
The Blaine Street jail is a minimum-security facility set in a home-like environment complete with a backyard, benches, children's sandbox and vegetable garden. The State Board of Corrections has rated the facility to house 40 female inmates. The average occupancy for the year ending 2001 was eighteen inmates per month. The accepted officer-to-inmate ratio is one to fifty/sixty inmates. Therefore, only one officer is required to be on duty.
F2
Page 85
The County's Health Service Agency provides medical, pharmacy and diagnostic services. Doctors from the Main Jail attend sick call each weekday morning. A chaplain, Crisis Intervention Team and other service providers also come to the facility.
F3
Page 85
The Supervising Correctional Officer from Blaine Street interviews inmates at the Main Jail at the time of booking. All persons arrested in Santa Cruz County are booked through the Main Jail. During the assessment interview the inmate is informed of house rules, behavioral expectations, work assignment and class attendance requirements that must be met in order to be assigned to Blaine Street. According to the supervisor, inmates must display a cooperative attitude and peaceful behavior if they are to remain at this facility.
F4
Page 85
The female inmates move freely inside the facility and on the fenced grounds. There are no locked doors at the facility. Inmates detained at Blaine Street can walk away from their incarceration at any time. This rarely happens, however, because inmates understand the consequence for leaving or violating facility rules is a return to the Main Jail. Most of the women prefer to serve their time at the Blaine Street facility because of the special privileges available there.
F5
Page 85
Blaine Street inmates have smoking privileges that are not available at the Main Jail. The back yard is the designated smoking area.
F6
Page 85
Inmates can purchase candy, soda, cigarettes, playing cards and personal items from vending machines. They also have access to television, exercise equipment, videos, board games and a library.
F7
Page 85
Inmates are allowed one two-hour visit with family each weekend. 2001–2002 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Final Report Review of the Blaine Street Women’s Facility -3
F8
Page 86
Many of the women return to this facility, as they are frequent offenders. At the time of the Grand Jury’s tour, staff at Blaine Street had no means of tracking the rate of recidivism.
F9
Page 86
The most common offenses are related to substance abuse (drugs and alcohol).
F10
Page 86
The average inmate stay is three to four months.
F11
Page 86
The inmates' day begins at 6:30 a.m. and lights out is at 10:00 p.m.
F12
Page 86
Each inmate is assigned duties that may include kitchen chores, cleaning the facility and other household tasks. The inmates prepare meals in the small kitchen with menus developed by the Food Service Manager from the Main Jail. Some of the inmates also help prepare meals at the Main Jail under the Food Service Manager’s supervision.
F13
Page 86
Some of the inmates participate in the Work Release Program, which permits participants to work during the day and return to the facility in the evening. In some cases, this allows inmates to continue in a job they held before their incarceration.
F14
Page 86
The jail provides some training classes and help in getting a high school diploma while the inmate is incarcerated. The following are some of the classes that are offered at the facility for the inmates: • Computer Classes • Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous • Smoking Cessation • Career and Job Development • GED Preparation • Art Classes • Parenting Classes • Knitting and Crocheting Classes. Conclusions
Recommendations 3
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R1Page 84The inmates that meet the criteria to be housed currently at Blaine Street should be moved to another minimum-security facility such as a halfway house.
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R2Page 84Blaine Street staff should develop a system for tracking recidivism. 2001–2002 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Final Report -4 Review of the Blaine Street Women’s Facility
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R3Page 84The Blaine Street facility should be remodeled and made into a medium-security wing for housing women who need more supervision and restrictions but who do not need to be housed at the maximum-security Main Jail. This renovation would provide the alternative of removing from the Main Jail women inmates who are incarcerated for minor infractions and need only a medium-security facility. This would also separate female inmates requiring only a medium-security facility from the more violent and/or more criminally sophisticated female inmates. A Blaine Street renovation would also relieve overcrowding at the Main Jail while more fully utilizing the Blaine Street facility and would also increase the available system capacity for male inmates at the Main Jail. Response Required Entity