The Inmate Reception

The outdated AJIS system creates long delays for inmates at the IRC, as well as difficult and inefficient working conditions for IRC staff.

The Court and the IRC are unable to share digital information on their respective information systems.

Excessive reliance on overtime hours results from high staff turnover and high levels of absenteeism due to, among other things, work related injuries.

Inmates who have exhibited mental illness or who have certain medical conditions are not housed with the general jail population; they are housed at Twin Towers. 11 . During one of our day-shift visits, the Court sent a case list with 1,168 names of individuals to be transported to court for arraignment the following day. (Exhibit 5.) Exhibit 5. These are the jackets of active cases. 12 . The overnight shift at the IRC files the previous day’s paperwork and retrieves the next day’s jackets from the shelves of active cases. (Exhibit 6.) Exhibit 6. Here is a portion of a single clerk’s daily caseload. 13 . At the end of the court day, the inmates are bused from the court back to the IRC. A deputy on the bus brings all the jackets, court transmittals, personal property, and other loose paperwork. All of this is stuffed into large canvas bags known as saddlebags. In fact, the staff call this delivery the “Pony Express.” There may be a thousand pages or more in each saddlebag. There are several saddlebags on each bus. (Exhibits 7 and 8.) Exhibit 7 Saddlebags contain loose records and property of inmates who have appeared in court. 14 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY Exhibit 8. All pages from this saddlebag must be manually processed by the custody clerks. 15 . Each court transmittal consists of about six or more pages. A custody clerk unstaples the transmittal and rearranges the order of papers, putting the page containing the judge’s instructions on top. Then the sorted bundle is re-stapled, and it moves to the date/time stamping station.

Every paper in every bundle that enters the IRC is manually date/time stamped by a custody clerk. The documents are then returned to the proper jackets.

Many of the court documents are handwritten, and sometimes the instructions are hard to decipher. In these cases, an IRC “trouble shooter” calls the clerk of the Court to clarify the instructions. This call results in another delay, possibly until the next morning.

While the court transmittals are being processed, the inmates are held in the front of house until they are either released or bused back to jail. No inmate may be held at the IRC more than 24 hours, and no inmate may leave the IRC until their paperwork is complete. Therefore, if the paperwork is not complete by the end of the 24-hour period, the inmate is housed at either Men’s Central Jail or Twin Towers. This process results in crowds of inmates and long waits while the paper processing continues. Inmates who are deemed disruptive may be handcuffed and chained to a bench to prevent them from harming themselves or others. The front of house is not large enough to accommodate the number of inmates who are held there. The length of time needed to process the paperwork from the saddlebags means a long stay for inmates in this area.8 14. Inmates who are remanded to detention are admitted to the bus when their paperwork is complete. They are held on the bus until all the men have boarded, which may take several hours.

Inmates who are to be released wait in the front of house until their paperwork is found and completed. This may mean spending several additional hours past their technical release time. Walker, Taylor. WitnessLA. Oct 3, 2022. https://witnessla.com/unconscionable-jail-conditions-spur-la- county-supervisors-to-explore-building-locked-mental-health-facilities/ 16 . Additional paperwork must be completed when an inmate is to be released. Release documents come to the IRC in the saddlebags from the Court, and once located, go through a five-step signatory review to ensure that no inmate is released by mistake. Five staff members approve the release of an inmate: a. First Release Clerk. This clerk in the custody office verifies the length of stay and corroborates it with the release date as received in the transmittal from the Court. b. Supervisor. This person reviews and signs the jacket, thereby approving the work done in the previous step. c. Head Clerk. This person verifies that steps (a) and (b) were completed correctly and signs off. d. Watch Deputy. This person checks the Justice Data Interface Controller (JDIC), another software system, for additional warrants that would prevent release. e. Second Release Clerk. This clerk, in the release area, makes the final check of all the paperwork and then “opens the door” to release the man. It takes hours to complete these steps. The sheer volume of cases and the repetitive tasks executed thousands of times each day take a physical toll on the custody clerks. To address the high level of repetitive stress injuries, the IRC has installed ergonomic furniture at many work stations, but the physical handling of tens of thousands of papers each day continues to be problematic. WORKERS COMPENSATION BURDEN The IRC is highly impacted by workers’ compensation claims. There are numerous repetitive stress injuries and subsequently many workers’ compensation claims. A confidential source informed the Committee that in 2022, workers’ compensation claims at the IRC totaled $3,779,813. Of that amount, clerks and administrators claims totaled $1,049,745. At any given time, up to a quarter of the custody office staff are absent, and their duties are executed by other staff working 17 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY overtime hours. Even the supervisors work many overtime hours to make up for absent staff. The cost of claims combined with the cost of overtime labor add up to a high, unnecessary expense. OLD OFFICE TECHNOLOGY During our visits to the IRC we encountered many very old office machines. Young clerks have never seen this kind of equipment before joining the IRC. Picture this: • Teletype machine. This machine is used to accept input from some state agencies outside the County. In case the teletype should fail, the IRC keeps a second one on hand for parts. There is nobody to call for repairs. • Dot matrix printers. In one office, the Committee found a clerk whose job is to print out-of-state warrants on a dot matrix printer and periodically cut and bundle the fan folded printouts. The printer is so old that its pins are worn down and barely strike the paper hard enough to leave any marks. The resulting printouts are nearly illegible. Even a brand new ribbon doesn’t help. Dot matrix printers have their place, but these illegible printouts are rarely if ever used. They are stored in massive piles that the clerks describe as being the size of a VW bus. A new information system would largely replace this task. Exhibit 9. Teletype. Exhibit 10. Dot matrix printer. 18 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY Exhibit 11 Stacks of dot matrix printouts are stored on and under tables. We saw similar examples of machines so old and obsolete that the clerks have become their own service technicians to keep the machines operational. At the IRC there are additional examples of old office technology that have fallen out of use. • Pneumatic tube. This system uses vacuum suction to transport containers of papers through chutes to a remote location. In this manner, paper documents can be moved from one office to another. At one time release papers were sent by pneumatic tube from the IRC custody side to the release clerk. • Sorting wheel. This round dining table size unit includes hinged flaps spaced every inch around the perimeter. One can put manila folders in order and rotate the table to access any folder without moving from one’s chair. 19 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY • File sorters. The IRC has several sorters in various sizes. These units are about 18-24 inches long, two to three inches wide, with hinged flaps used to hold sorted papers. The flaps may be numbered or lettered. OFFICE SPACE Most available wall space and floor space is taken up by paper storage. Stacks of paper and boxes of files are stored atop tables, under tables, in alcoves and corners, and on shelves. Hallways are blocked, creating a hazardous workspace. A new information system would allow data to be stored digitally, instead. Exhibit 12 Hallways are frequently used for storage. 20 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY THE STRESS OF THE JOB During our interviews we found that the staff, whose main job is to handle high volumes of paperwork, are well aware that this cumbersome manual system could be modernized. They recognize that a system less reliant on paper handling would enable them to process jackets much more quickly so the inmates’ stays at the IRC could be radically shortened. There is a level of stress that comes with running an operation in such a clearly antiquated way. STAFFING ISSUES There are serious concerns about maintaining the current AJIS system. The ISD project manager is nearing retirement age, and there is nobody who can provide anything close to the same level of expertise on AJIS. Forty years ago, the ISD had a staff of COBOL programmers; today there is just one. The institutional knowledge and the ability to support AJIS are disappearing. A system this old cannot be maintained or upgraded. All but a couple of people who can work on the system have already retired. Only one COBOL programmer is still on staff. Young technology workers are not learning COBOL, so it is not possible to hire new COBOL programmers. The entry level clerk positions at the IRC are permanently open, meaning the IRC is continuously hiring new clerks. During our interviews with IRC managers, we learned there are reasons for the high turnover among the junior level staff: • Being hired by the IRC is one of the easiest routes into the County Civil Service. The job is always open, and the qualifications minimal. There is always a shortage of clerks. • The job is not a desirable one. The pay is low, and the ambience is not appealing. Clerks with one year’s experience can transfer to better jobs within the County Civil Service. • Clerks fill three shifts to cover each 24-hour day. New clerks usually are assigned the least popular hours, like overnight, further motivating them to transfer to other departments where they can enjoy normal office hours. 21 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY • There is little room for internal advancement for a Clerk within the IRC. The skills learned in this office are not transferrable to other jobs. This combination makes for a bleak outlook with little job growth. GROWING LEGAL CHALLENGES The long holding time for inmates under harsh conditions led to a request by the ACLU to U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson for an emergency order to force LASD and the Board of Supervisors to remedy the “medieval” conditions of the IRC. The motion, filed on September 8, 2022, sought to limit custody at the IRC to 24 hours at most and to improve conditions so they meet minimum legal standards. (Rutherford v. Villanueva9). The Los Angeles Times reported on the case.10 The situation gained federal attention when U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (California), Cory Booker (New Jersey), and Kirsten Gillibrand (New York) wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, describing the conditions at the IRC as a “humanitarian crisis.” They cited the earlier ACLU request. In February 2023, the ACLU asked the judge to hold the Sheriff and Supervisors in contempt over jail conditions, which allegedly have not improved during the time in which the restraining orders were in effect.11 The federal attention poses a serious challenge to the County, with substantial legal and financial implications. The gravity of the situation is such that the County must give the highest priority to resolving the problems at the IRC. GROWING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES There is a financial burden as well. By continuing to use the current paper-based system, the IRC cannot process cases quickly enough to meet the federal restraining order, nor can it surmount the monumental backlog of paperwork. Rutherford v. Villanueva, No. 75-CV-04111-DDP | Casetext Search + Citator 10 https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-08/barbaric-l-a-county-jail-conditions-alleged-as- aclu-seeks-federal-intervention. Keri Blakingerstaff. ACLU asks judge to hold sheriff and supervisors in contempt over jail conditions. Los Angeles Times. February 27, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-27/aclu-asks- judge-to-hold-sheriff-supervisors-in-contempt-over-jail-conditions. 22 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY There are hidden costs to maintaining the status quo, including substantial costs of workers’ compensation claims. Typically, claims involve repetitive action injuries associated with processing tens of thousands of pieces of paper each day. High employee turnover at the entry level leaves the department continually understaffed. There is concurrent risk of losing long time senior employees to retirement. Currently at least three clerks each have about forty years of experience at the IRC. If any of them retire, they will take their irreplaceable knowledge of the department and its systems, which could easily lead to higher error rate in processing inmates and even longer waits in the IRC front of house. These are two related expenses: the cost to constantly train new employees, as well as the cost associated with paying overtime hours to make up for the shortage of personnel. A COMPUTER SYSTEM AT THE END OF ITS LIFE CYCLE AJIS was a spectacular success, and it has served the County well. It is used by all LASD and police departments in the County, by prosecuting attorneys, and others who need to access inmate information. AJIS has been the standard in the County for four decades. It will be a monumental job to replace it, but it cannot be made to integrate with systems from all the other agencies that send/receive data to the IRC. To continue relying on it is to expose the County to increasing risks. The overloaded system is becoming more prone to error. The volume of work requires staffing twenty-four hours per day. Clerks already are processing as many records as they can. There have been several high- profile cases where an inmate was released in error, and it must be assumed that other less publicized errors occur.12 More importantly, AJIS cannot interface with modern systems such as that used by the Court. AJIS has become a significant contributing factor to the unconscionable delays in the processing of inmates. A system this old cannot be maintained or upgraded. All but a couple of people who can work on this system have already retired. Within a very short time, it will be impossible to make even modest changes to AJIS. Interview, December 9, 2022 with IRC staff. 23 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY A MODERN INFORMATION SYSTEM IS NEEDED Moving people through the IRC in a timely manner would help alleviate the crowding currently experienced when cases pile up in this paperwork purgatory. The IRC would be able to streamline its operations by developing a modern computer system. For example, by eliminating much of the paperwork, the IRC could begin processing inmates returning from court hearings as soon as the Court enters the data. Ideally, by the time an inmate returns from court to the IRC, his data already would be recorded. Release orders and housing assignments could be carried out expeditiously and inmates would spend the least possible time at the IRC. A new information system that incorporates the ability to share data in real time with other agencies that serve the IRC should replace the current forty year old legacy system. This is not a small upgrade. When an organization undertakes a project of this scope, all the business practices must be documented, and new ones designed. Programs must be developed so that data is secure yet shareable with related agencies. This is a major undertaking. TWO POSSIBLE WAYS TO PROCEED A software project of this size can be designed by the ISD (in-house), as the current system was built. Or, it can be contracted out to a technology consulting organization. There are pluses and minuses for either path. IN-HOUSE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT A new system designed in-house has the advantage of using personnel already on the County payroll. The finished product will be thoroughly understood by the technology personnel who will design and build it. Later modifications will be less expensive because they can be built in- house as needed, and the turnaround time of modifications will be shorter. On the other hand, the expense and the risk of developing a new system is borne entirely by the County. There is scant opportunity to share the development expense with another agency. 24 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY CONTRACTING OUT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT Contracting with a technology company to build a new system has some advantages. The system can be built to the County’s specifications and guidance, but the expense of hiring personnel is borne by the consultant. This option provides the County a more reliable estimate of upfront and ongoing costs. By using a technology development firm to build the new system, the consultant can use skilled personnel already on its staff or hire new talent for specialized projects. The technology consultant can spread the development costs over several client organizations (i.e., other counties using the same software). The technology firm accepts the risk and responsibility for the project. It is a challenge to find the right software contractor. The standard advice for companies purchasing software is to use the “off the shelf” version of the product with no customization, other than perhaps for the colors on the computer screen. Any requested modifications carry substantial upfront and ongoing costs. A client is charged for customizing the program, and for every patch or upgrade of the software. Any requested modification of a module or creation of a new function is likely to be very costly and require a lengthy development time. There may not be an existing software product that will meet all the needs of the IRC. However, there is a financial incentive for a consultant to work with the County to develop a robust product that could become a package of modules for use by other law enforcement agencies. COST OF A NEW SYSTEM How much would a new system cost? The Committee has neither sufficient time nor expertise to estimate a dollar figure – that will be left to those whose job it is to direct the project. We can make some statements about the scope of the job and its relative cost. The most recent attempt to develop a new system was in 2021, when ISD hired consulting firm Gartner to conduct a study of the IRC operations.13 Syscon Global Systems joined and completed the first phase of development of a new system. At that point, the cost estimates 13 Interview with ISD representative, December 5, 2022. 25 2022-2023 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY of continuing the project were too high for LASD to build into its annual budget. The project was put on hiatus. What we know from this experience is that the cost for design, development, and implementation of a new system for the IRC will be higher than LASD can afford without earmarked funding from the Board of Supervisors. While a project of this size and complexity will be very expensive, its cost pales in comparison to the expenses the County will incur by not moving forward with a replacement for AJIS. For this reason, approval and support will have to come from the highest organizational level in the County, the Board of Supervisors. FINDINGS 1. The outdated AJIS system creates long delays for inmates at the IRC, as well as difficult and inefficient working conditions for IRC staff.