Case # 14-21gj Stanislaus County Jail Facilities Inspection*

The Policy and Procedures Manual for the Men's jail is hard to read and redundant to the Public Safety Manual. Response: The respondent partially agrees with the finding. All Adult Detention Division policies comport with statutory and legal requirements, as outlined in Title 15-Crime Prevention and Corrections, Title 24-Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities the State Penal Code and all other applicable state and federal regulations and laws. Though the division has one standard policy manual, both the Men's Jail and Public Safety Center have independent procedural manuals, which fully comply with the division policy, but are necessitated by the unique physical plant and operational challenges inherent within each facility. The policy manuals are reviewed and updated annually. At the next scheduled review, the Commander of the Men's Jail will assess the need to revise the language to make it more user friendly.

Regarding the 2013 BSCC report, some single occupancy cells have been converted to double occupancy, but lack the appropriate square footage required by Title 24. Section 470A.2.6. Response: The Respondent agrees with the finding. The Men's Jail does, in fact, have inmate cells used for double occupancy that lack the square footage required in the current iteration of Title 24; however, the facility was constructed in 1954 and not subject to the more current standards. The BSCC routinely cites this issue in their audits but only for information purposes and not with the intent of actually reducing the capacity.

Regarding local inspection reports, the fire inspection report found some exit sign lights were not working. The health inspection and building grounds inspections reports found that the Downtown Jail is old but well maintained. Water leak damage was found in certain areas. Response: The Respondent wholly disagrees with the finding. We are at a bit of a loss on this finding. The Men's Jail has no lighted exit signs anywhere in the jail, nor have we seen reports reflecting this issue. Further, we reviewed the Stanislaus County Environmental Health Official Notice dated April 23, 2014 and found no reference pertaining to water damage. The same is true of inspections performed by the Inmate Medical Quality Assurance Board, Board of State and Community Corrections and the Fire Marshal. The Men's Jail did experience water damage two years ago in the Court Tunnel and Inmate Work Quarters, but those leaks were repaired and reflected as such on the Environmental Health Report filed at that time. Staff at the jail has made notable and commendable progress in cleaning-up, painting and upgrading the facility, repairing damage to the infrastructure and enhancing security throughout. Less than two years ago, the county funded a major project to renovate the HVAC system. Any existing damage or July 3, 2014 The Honorable Loretta Murphy Begen Re: Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 14-21GJ structural problems are addressed and corrected aggressively by the jail commander and his supervisors, as they are identified. Although the Men's Jail was designed for short terms (less than one year), it is being used for

long term incarceration (greater than one year). Response: The Respondent agrees with the finding. All current county jails in California were designed to house inmates booked into the facilities and considered transient until they bailed out of custody; completed court proceedings or completed sentences in the county jail system. Their time in custody was measured in days or weeks. With the enactment of AB 109- Public Safety Realignment, inmates formerly sentenced to state prison are now sentenced to county jails; and, in many cases, their time is measured in years, rather than days or weeks. Many counties, including Stanislaus, are participating in partnership with the state on such bills as AB 900 and SB 1022 to add new capacity and programs to accommodate these longer-term inmates. By 2018, this county will add 840 inmate beds in modern facilities to address this very issue. The Men's Jail was found to be over the BSCC capacity of 342. At the time of the Inspection,

the MJ was housing 351 inmates. While this is out of compliance with the State of California regulations, it is compliant with the Federal regulations which set the capacity at 396. Response: The Respondent agrees with the finding. The BSCC did rate the Men's Jail at a capacity of 342; however, the department entered into a stipulated agreement with the Federal Court in the case of Rodriguez vs. Stanislaus County in 1992, pertaining to the conditions of confinement and inmate housing capacity at all the detention facilities in the county. The Men's Jail has maintained a court-ordered capacity limit of 396 since that time. The Consent Decree is recognized by the BSCC as the legal and binding order as to the capacity of the Men's Jail.

At the time of the inspection, the facility was short of personnel by 42 staff persons. Response: The Respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. The Men's Jail has one Lieutenant, six Sergeants and sixty-one Deputies assigned to the facility. Currently, the Men's Jail has three Deputy vacancies. We can only surmise the Grand jury somehow received inaccurate information on the number of vacant positions. The Adult Detention Division as a whole has only twenty-one vacancies and has never been as high as forty-two in the past eight years. <b>Public Safety Center:</b> The PSC was clean and well maintained at the time of the inspection. Staffing was at a

reasonable level. Response: The Respondent agrees with the finding. July 3, 2014 The Honorable Loretta Murphy Begen Re: Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 14-21GJ Unit 1, Unit 2

Both units are fairly new and well maintained. Response: The Respondent agrees with the finding.