The FBI has already been looking into allegations of misconduct by sheriff’s deputies within the Los Angeles County jail. There have been multiple reports of abuse and violence. There was even one instance of a rookie deputy resigning after his supervisor allegedly told him to beat an inmate who was mentally ill. Nearly 30 deputies have been disciplined for covering up abuse or beating inmates in the last two years.

The new commission has limited power. It cannot force Sheriff Baca to make changes or subpoena documents. Since Sheriff Baca is an elected official, the only way to get him out of office is through a vote by residents. It can, however, raise public awareness about the issues and put pressure on the Board of Supervisors and the sheriff to make changes.

Members of the new commission include a pastor, four retired judges, a jail safety expert and a police chief.

The members will look into whether the Sheriff’s Department is properly monitoring the deputies. A department database is in place that is supposed to alert supervisors early on when a deputy is repeatedly accused of using excessive force with inmates.

It will also be decided whether rookie deputies are getting the proper training needed and supervision that will keep them from using force as their initial response during an incident. A rookie’s first assignment in the Department is to serve as a guard in the county jails.

Though the new commission cannot force a change in the jail system, its investigations can add more pressure on the Sheriff to take better actions to improve the system.

Because the program gives County Sheriffs, such as LA County Sheriff Lee Baca, the authority release incarcerates to home detention or release them early, Romero believes the best solution is to prosecute, prosecute prosecute. A big part of his plan is to ensure that defendants are charged with the most serious charges allowed to ensure that as many offenders as possible will serve their sentences in state prisons.

Some believe this strategy will negate the realignment process altogether. A better strategy, they feel is to focus on rehabilitation.

Still, Cooley said he intends to instruct his prosecutors to throw the heaviest of books at defendants, leaving no stone unturned in their prosecution strategies.  At current, the Los Angeles County DA’s office is also taking the idea of training other jurisdictions how to “get the most out of sentencing” under advisement.

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 Programs for Prisoners

Is there a jail you’ d like to know more about? Let us know – we’ll get you “inside” (or, if you need, we’ll get you out!).

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 is scheduled to report findings first quarter 2012.

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 additional training for sheriff’s deputies, enforcement of the recommendation was lax. Finger-pointing within the department continues to be a problem. Sheriff Baca has said that only a “small percentage” of jail personnel contributed to the problem.

Commander James Hellmold, who is part of a team assembled to implement jail reforms, indicated taht the memos never reached Sheriff’s desk. Some of those reports, he said, still lacked information pertaining to how inmates may have provoked violence.

Other reports written by jail supervisory staff criticize a consistent failure to examine how alternative safety enforcement methods could be employed.   One staff member wrote he questioned whether “deputies could intentionally disable cameras on Tasers”.

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 an inmate being unjustly tasered.  The footage showed a Taser was employed when the inmate was on the ground, on his stomach and not moving or exhibiting signs of resistance.

A number of other incidents similar to this were also cited and because of this, he said,  the need for additional jail surveillance cameras is immediate.  LA County Sheriff Lee Baca said that 69 additional cameras would be installed inside the Men’s Central Jail by the close of 2011.

Findings from the report will be forwarded to local prosecutors.  Criminal charges against the abusers may be filed.

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 for the housing of an additional 4,054 “high-security” inmates and would add 393 beds to the system countywide. This increased capacity, he said could help offset additional strain being placed on the county jail system now that  that inmates are in the process of being transfered from state to local facilities.

The Board of Supervisors, however, are cautious, pointing to high construction costs during a tight-budget environment.   Proponents of the plan say construction could be funded by state grants, bond funding and grants from the county.

If approved, construction would begin in 2017. We hope this much needed new jail comes to Los Angeles.

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 concerns about jails and to ensure that we are doing the best we possibly can, I have implemented two separate task forces.”

The first, called the Commander Management Task Force, will hold Community Town Hall meetings with jail inmates, ensure that all personnel interact with inmates in a “manner consistent with the Core Values of the Sheriff’s Department”, conduct a comprehensive review of current inmate complaint process, as well as provide mentoring and oversight of Department personnel.

“I have also ordered a complete review of our current Department-wide employee personnel performance monitoring system,” Baca said.  ”This database helps us monitor our personnel for early warning signs of employees who performance may need to be addressed today to avoid problems in the future.”

According to an Oct. 9 report published by the LA Times, the second task force will consist of 35 full-time investigators who will reexamine old and current allegations of inmate abuse.

The Special Jail Investigations Task Force will be assigned to “thoroughly investigate each of the 78 declarations  alleging criminal or administrative misconduct,” Baca said.  ”While some allegations were previously investigated, each will be thoroughly re-investigated by this task force. I take these allegations very seriously.”

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 indifferent to the claims of inmates and civilian visitors to the jail about routine assaults on inmates by deputies.

There has been one instance where an inmate at the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail claimed deputies accused him of stealing mail before breaking his eye socket and putting him in a jail cell with two gang members. The deputies ignored the inmate’s pleas for help when the gang members assaulted him and held his head in the toilet. The man was in jail for making criminal threats and reported this occurrence in a sworn declaration.

Former FBI special agent, Tom Parker, conducted an investigation of the LA County jails for the ACLU, and stated that the jail system is being run “through corruption, through intimidation, through unchecked violence and negligent, perhaps even nonexistent, supervision and management.”

Sheriff Baca said that the ACLU’s statements were “hyperbole” aimed at getting headlines and that the department takes any allegations of misconduct seriously. According to the ACLU, there were thousands of brutality complaints just last year. A 22-page report includes 70 sworn statements, including two from chaplains and one from a Hollywood producer.

The purpose, as stated by officials, is to get a better grasp on the socioeconomic dynamic that occurs in troubled communities, it is not a tool for tracking criminals and analyzing crimes.

According to Sheriff Baca, “This system has the capability to empower police agencies to effectively indentify and assess problem areas, without regard to jurisdictional boundaries, just like crime.”

John Torres of the L.A. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said, “The CBIS provides real time intelligence between local, state and federal agencies that will allow us to combat crime together. If this database can save one life, and I know it will, ATF will continue its collaboration with this project to ensure open lines of intelligence (are) being shared with all levels of law enforcement.”

According to Beck, “The very nature of CBIS supports our goals to further develop and enhance LAPD’s predictive policing efforts, because it presents a comprehensive picture of the communities we serve, especially those troubled by violence and gang crime. The future of smarter, more effective policing means knowing where and when crime will happen.”

Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department provided an example by stating, “If [law enforcement] sees an area that’s beginning to grow in terms of crime, a specific kind of crime, like property crimes, which may be related to drugs, (officials can) start flooding the area, not only with police, but with social services.”

The database also provides information for police to give residents instant referrals for local resources.

The device will be securely housed in a single location and access to it will be available to all Los Angeles and Orange County law enforcement agencies.