Murphys Sanitary District

Since the jail facility’s construction in 1963, the population within Calaveras County has nearly quadrupled. The jail was originally constructed for an inmate population of 47 to serve a county residency of 11,000. With its increase in size, the jail will now house up to 65 inmates, while the population it serves has swelled to over 43,000. The county adult detention facility in San Andreas is the only county jail within the county, serving the Angels Camp Police Department as well as the Sheriff’s Department.

The 2004-2005 Grand Jury, the Needs Assessment Consultant, and the Sheriff’s Department have judged the current jail facility not expandable as well as inadequate. The current jail is a labyrinth of corridors, passages, exits, entries, and holding areas that are in some cases remote from central control. Current jail architecture standard strives to have all holding cells be circumferential to a common observation and control station. The remote and convoluted current facility requires increased officer participation for the safety of officers as well as inmates. Several sections of the facility are not visible from the control station, and there is no way to route remote monitors through the walls to central control. In the 27 case of a fire, entrance and exit from some areas of the facility could become untenable.

Currently there exists no “sally port” or enclosure outside the jail for moving inmates to or from the jail. This situation exposes officers as well as the public to increased risk while transporting inmates. Prisoners, although restrained during transport, pass through a wide-open area adjacent to the entire Government Center. This issue has been addressed by previous grand juries.

The jail is well run and meets state and local requirements for care and feeding of inmates. The kitchen is adequate, clean, and well maintained. There are exercise areas as well as a library. However, because of general layout of the facility, officer and inmate safety require additional officer support to assure compliance. This tends to take officers from the field in order to maintain safe control within the jail.

With its maximum inmate population set at 65 by the state, the jail represents the weakest link in the law enforcement infrastructure in Calaveras County. Due to the size of the jail, it is common for inmates to be released far short of their sentences. As more offenders are taken into custody, inmates must be released to maintain the 65 maximum population mandate. At this time, the jail has basically become a “felony only” facility eliminating any “shock and fright” aspect for deterring early misdemeanor crimes. Incarceration, punishment, and deterrent aspects of a jail are greatly diminished when the potential criminals know they will be released short of their sentences.

The early release norm diminishes the punishment, incarceration, and deterrent aspect of jail time. Knowing little or no time will be served, more sophisticated offenders are choosing “incarceration” over fines, probation, and other sanctions.

The increasing population within the county is resulting in more urban crime. Calaveras County is beginning to see epidemic increases in drug offenses and gang activity. The current jail facility has no ability to separate offenders according to gang affiliations, crime levels, or communicable diseases. The methamphetamine epidemic within the county is exacerbated by an inability to hold offenders for their full sentences. Early released offenders often go back to their previous criminal activity. 28

Angels Camp Police Department, which must also use the county jail, has seen over a 300 percent increase in adult felony arrests from 2000 to 2004, and misdemeanor arrests are up 200 percent. Crime increases at the city level parallel those of county statistics. Per the County Probation Department Geographical statistics, the Valley Springs general area has the highest number of felony drug crimes with Angels Camp and San Andreas, second and third. According to the needs assessment statistics, adult crime is not only increasing with the population, but the ratio between population and offenders has gone from .054610 in 2000 to a projected ratio of .067033 in 2005.

There are significant increases in police activity during the Calaveras Frog Jump Celebration and other special events that put a demand on crime enforcement infrastructure. These costs are born by county taxpayers. Ironically, taxpayers recently rejected an increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax, which could have reduced this burden of visitor-related stress to law enforcement infrastructure. SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION As with any type of public infrastructure, a “bottleneck” or “choke point” will limit the ability of that agency to be effective. Within the law enforcement infrastructure, the choke point is the jail. With current population increases and projections based on development within the County, the law enforcement infrastructure is inadequate to meet the current or projected needs of the population. Increasing personnel within the Sheriff’s Department can only partially deter crime increases. The impact on the law enforcement infrastructure caused by population growth has been woefully ignored. State funding from grants, revenue from bonds, or tax increases are necessary in order to meet the urgent need for a new jail. We find it difficult to agree with county approvals for increased development without a plan to upgrade the infrastructures to support that growth. Under the current financial climate within state government, the likelihood of a grant for a small voting block such as Calaveras County is, at best, weak. Further delays in securing a new jail only increase the eventual cost and time needed for construction.