Shasta County Main Jail Reason for Inquiry:

During the past year, several incidents have occurred which underscore safety concerns at the jail. On June 5, 2002, an inmate worker escaped through the front door of the jail and was later apprehended. On June 22, 2002, two inmates severely beat a Correctional Officer with a hand-made weapon during an attempted escape. On November 17, 2002, one of those inmates committed suicide in his cell with an instrument fashioned out of a razor blade. On January 7, 2003, an inmate was mistakenly released from the jail after impersonating another inmate. On January 11, 2003, an inmate attempted suicide by hanging.

The Shasta County Sheriff requested the California State Board of Corrections to perform a Security Audit on the Main Jail in October of

The Shasta County Jail is currently operating at minimum staffing levels. These levels are inadequate to safely monitor the activities of a near capacity and increasingly dangerous inmate population. The Shasta County Main Jail staff works a 12-hour day with four days on, and three days off. It was reported to the Grand Jury early in 2003 that some of the staff were working as many as 40 hours of overtime per week and that all security staff were working at least some mandatory overtime each week. This leads to fatigue, decreased productivity, and low morale, all of which become safety issues in a jail setting. The total overtime hours in the custody unit due to staffing shortages in 2002 was 12,492 hours at time- and-a-half, resulting in a cost of $312,300. There appear to be two reasons for the shortage of staff: 1) there currently are not enough positions allocated to provide for adequate staffing and, 2) the Department has been unable to recruit, hire, and train enough staff to fill the already authorized positions due, in part, to a shortage of qualified applicants. One result of the staffing shortages has been to leave the individual module control rooms on each housing unit floor un-staffed during the night shift. Service Officers, who have no contact with inmates, work in the central control room at night, which limits their ability to monitor inmates, Deputies, and Correctional Officers assigned to the housing units on different levels. There are no call buttons in the inmate cells and sounds from the housing areas go unheard if there is no one in the module control rooms on each level. Security staff patrol the housing units during the night with only two, or sometimes three, Deputies or Correctional Officers assigned to eight housing units. The Sheriff’s Department is in the process of phasing out the use of Deputy Sheriffs in the Main Jail in favor of using Correctional Officers. This plan will be phased in over a four year period and calls for Correctional Sergeant positions and eventually a Correctional Lieutenant in order to create a career ladder for those interested in the corrections field. A resulting factor of this change is a cost saving to the County because Correctional Officers are paid less than Deputy Sheriffs. However, as the transition proceeds, it is imperative that sufficient staff is available to allow for adequate training. One of the recommendations of the Security Audit was to conduct a comprehensive staffing analysis, which the Board of Corrections was expected to complete by May of 2003.

In July of 2002, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office solicited input regarding security issues from several personnel working in the Main Jail. Ten written responses from concerned staff were returned to administration. There were several suggestions for improvements, including: a) increase module control room coverage to 24 hours a day, seven days a week b) increase staffing so there would always be a two-person prowler/rover team c) modify the shower curtains so inmates cannot hide behind them d) install food ports on all maximum-security cell doors e) increase staffing or decrease inmate movement during the hours of 8am-5pm f) reconfigure security cameras and have them cleaned regularly g) improve screening of inmate workers and searching of intakes (new detainees) h) serve boneless chicken, as bones can be made into weapons

In January 2003, the Sheriff closed the Detention Annex because of serious staffing shortages in Field and Custody personnel, retirement of seasoned officers, and the large number of newly hired personnel. This action allowed for staff to supplement the Main Jail and Patrol with experienced officers. When the Detention Annex is open, its 66-bed capacity helps lower the jail population. When crowding occurs at the Main Jail, inmates are released early due to capacity limits, as mandated by court order. During the past year, there was an average of approximately 30 inmates booked per day and an average daily population of approximately 350 inmates. The highest daily population reported to the Grand Jury was 378 on January 14, 2003. It was reported to the Grand Jury that the Sheriff expects about 800 early releases this year due to capacity limits.

A preliminary architectural feasibility study for the food service relocation and inmate capacity expansion for the Shasta County Jail was conducted in September