Keep Bailing

Costly Renovations Proposed for Pitchess Detention Center and Men’s Central Jail.

Our Inside California Jails Series…
The LA County Board of Supervisors has been asked to approve a proposal which would allocate $1,4 billion to renovate two LA County jails.   The improvements outlined in the plan would include the modernization of the downtown Men’s Central Jail as well as the addition of 400 bets to Pitchess Detention Center.

Proponents of the plan say that spending the money now would equate to long-term cost savings to the county.  Opponents, however, point to the weak economy and question whether taking on such a marked expense is prudent at the current time.

Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds continues with our twelfth series in our California Jails: Inside the Los Angeles County Jails.

Here, we’ll fill you in on:

• How California’s Prison Realignment Plan Could Read more »

Over Capacity

Our Inside California Jails Series Continues….

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that California state prisons were too overcrowded is already beginning to impact counties throughout the state.  Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has already begun sounding alarms, saying that Los Angeles jails could reach their capacity by the end of 2011.

An additional 8,000 inmates will be realigned to Los Angeles jails next year, officials said, putting the city between a rock and a hard place.  A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s department has said that approximately 70% of the inmate population consists of defendants who are awaiting trial.   Due to severe overcrowding, they said, that number may need to be reduced to around 50%.

Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds continues with our tenth series in our California jails: Inside the Los Angeles County Jails.

Here, we’ll fill you in on:

• Legislative Changes That Are Impacting LA County Jails
• Jail Overcrowding
• Possible Early Release Read more »

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told the LA Board of Supervisors that additional cameras will be installed in Los Angeles County jails following allegations of inmate abuse and misconduct by jail staff.

300 cameras in total were purchased according to Baca. KFI News has reported that the cameras will be installed over the course of the next five months at a cost of approximately $484,000.  This is in addition to the $308,000 spent to acquire the equipment.

A commission has been convened by the Board of Supervisors which Read more »

The LA Times has reported that command staff within the LA County Jail system first raised alarms about inmate abuse to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca almost two years ago.

The latest investigative article brings continued scrutiny to the nation’s largest jail system.  Reports of brutality against inmates, employee misconduct, and the use of unnecessary and excessive force by sheriffs and other jail personnel have mounted in recent weeks.

One of the reports found that deputies crafted narratives ‘dramatized to justify’ force. Reportedly, jailers delayed using weapons that could end fights, like pepper spray and stun guns, to ‘dispense appropriate jailhouse justice’.

Although supervisors had, at times, recommended Read more »

LA County Sheriff’s officials continue to remain under fire amidst charges of inmate abuse, according to a report by the LA Times.

A number of jail employees, 30 in total, are now facing disciplinary action for abusing and/or covering up abuse of inmates.  The Office of Independent Review (OIR), which serves as a “watchdog” for the department, found that stories were often forged as a means of “justifying” physical action against inmates.  Disproving those claims, they said, is often difficult to prove.

The report further stated that “only a fraction” of jail employees who used excessive force punished for their actions.  The full report, prepared by OIR head Michael Gennaco, is expected to be released later today.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Gennaco said jail surveillance cameras had captured footage of Read more »

Fox Los Angeles reported  that Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca has a new jail plan. If approved by the County Board of Supervisors, the $1.4 billion plan would allow for the demolition and rebuilding of the downtown Men’s Central Jail and would also allow for a new, women’s jail to be constructed at Pitchess Detention Center.

The proposal comes amidst staunch allegations of inmate abuse by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) . County officials believe that prison populations could be better managed should construction plans be approved.

Baca told Fox that the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail is antiquated and if the new facility is approved it could reduce annual operation costs by approximately $23.7 million. The current facility, which houses about 5,000 inmates, was built in 1963.

Baca further noted the new facilities would allow Read more »

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said he’s taking allegations of inmate abuse within the LA County jail system seriously.

In response to recent claims made by former department rookie Joshua Sather that he had been instructed by a supervisor to beat a mentally ill inmate, as well as other allegations brought forth by the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU), Baca said he has created two separate task forces address concerns.

“A number of allegations of misconduct including excessive force by Sheriff’s Department jail staff have been brought to my attention,” Baca said in a statement. “In order to address Read more »

George Rosales, an 18-year old Los Angeles County Jail inmate died last week after allegedly being punched in the head by a sheriff’s deputy. It’s been reported that Rosales, who was incarcerated  for armed robbery on July 27, was struck after he attempted to make a run for a prison elevator.

The inmate had been seen drinking water and appeared fine just 15 minutes earlier, prison officials say, but during a subsequent check they found Rosales in a state of distress. Rosales died during ambulance transport to a local hospital.

Sheriffs investigators say Read more »

Longtime Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has come under attack recently from a civil rights group, which is demanding his resignation because of the problems stemming from the jail system. The group, the American Civil Liberties Union, calls the system corrupt and says that it encourages fear and deputy brutality.

Sheriff Baca and his deputies are responsible for the supervision of more than 15,000 inmates in the LA County jail system, the busiest in the country. The Sheriff disputes the claims that have been made by the ACLU. The ACLU stated during a news conference that the sheriff and his top commanders were intentionally Read more »

LOS ANGELES – Yesterday, at approximately 7:30am the 20-year-old inmate was reportedly found lying lifeless in his jail cell at the Men’s Central Jail in L.A, according to the Sheriff’s and Coroner’s officials.

His name has not yet been released to the public and the death of the inmate is now undergoing investigation. There is no information being released now according to why his death occurred or if there was any violence that contributed to his death. An autopsy is Read more »