Supervisor Urges Reconsideration of 'Hub Jail'

RIVERSIDE - Riverside County supervisors today discussed moving the controversial proposed ''hub jail'' west of Palm Springs back up the priority list of future county projects, but one supervisor doubted the idea would get very far because of its prohibitive costs.

Supervisor Jeff Stone broached the prospect of resurrecting the Riverside County Regional Detention Center project after hearing a presentation by Chief Probation Officer Alan Crogan, who outlined the impact of Assembly Bill 109, the Public Safety Realignment Act.

''I've been preaching about the need for more jails since I've been in office,'' Stone said. ''This board is going to have to address this issue.''

AB 109, which took effect Oct. 1, mandated that individuals convicted of crimes that fall into the non-violent, non-serious, non-sexually oriented category, and whose principal offense results in a sentence of three years or less, are to be incarcerated in county jails.

So-called ''non's'' or ''N3s'' -- including DUI offenders, drug users, child abusers and identity thieves -- released from prison are also to be supervised by county probation agents, instead of parole officers with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as was traditionally the case.

The law was touted as an efficiency measure by Gov. Jerry Brown and other lawmakers, who implemented it in response to a federal court decree that California reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates over the next two years because of overcrowding.

In the first four months AB 109 has been operational, 570 non's have been sentenced to jail time locally, according to the probation department report. That figure does not include those jailed for parole violations, who in the past would have been transferred to state custody.

Nearly 2,000 are expected to receive jail sentences in the first full year, according to the report.

According to county officials, the county's five jails have reached 97 percent occupancy. Sheriff Stan Sniff told the board that with constant demand for the 3,906 inmate beds available countywide, he is being forced to release some low-level offenders from custody early.

The ''kickouts'' number just over 400 since October, by one estimate. The county is federally required to have a bed for each detainee.

Stone said there was no time to waste in ramping up a capital improvement program that focuses on expanding jail capacity.

''We're already behind the 8-ball,'' the supervisor said. ''There will be a lot more kickouts because of the state shoving more responsibility (for inmates) on Riverside County.''

Stone repeatedly mentioned re-examining the viability of the hub jail, which was proposed on a 200-acre site at the intersection of Rushmore Avenue and Tamarack Road in Whitewater, just off Interstate 10, on the eastern approach to Palm Springs.

The $300 million facility, which would have added 1,200 inmate beds in its first phase and ultimately 5,400 beds, was vehemently opposed by a number of Coachella Valley residential and business groups, led by the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention & Visitors Authority.

Most complaints had to do with the size of the jail and its high visibility.

At the urging of Supervisor John Benoit, who represents the valley, the project was removed from the county's list of capital improvement priorities last April.

He reminded Stone today that the huge cost of the facility was the motivation for shelving it.

Benoit told City News Service that with the county's financial condition still tenuous, there's little to no chance of the county committing the funding necessary to build and staff the Whitewater jail.

'This idea has no legs,'' Benoit said. ''There is no way we can afford it. There are alternatives that are far more reasonably priced that we can get to sooner.''

According to the supervisor, other options include expanding the Indio Jail and erecting a small-scale central county jail near Banning, but the latter would be ''a couple of decades down the road.''

According to the sheriff, the annual number of kickouts could number in the ''thousands'' annually because of AB 109.

''Until we get additional capacity, that's where we're going to be,'' Sniff said. ''We're doing everything we possibly can ... but it's not enough.''

He noted that neighboring San Bernardino County has 1.5 times more inmate beds than Riverside County and overcrowding is still an issue there.

''Any additional capacity would help us,'' Sniff said.

Complicating matters is a hole in AB 109 that permits offenders to be sentenced to well over the time intended. As long as the primary conviction is for a crime in the ''non'' category, without considering sentence-enhancing allegations, an inmate can be given jail time, according to the probation report.

One N3 convict is serving a 14-year sentence in Riverside County jail.

Stone said every potential jail site needs to be analyzed.

''If it has life, give it life. If not, don't give it life,'' he said. ''We can't keep going year after year without a decision (on where to build a jail).''

Economic Development Agency Director Rob Field said a revised capital improvement priorities plan will be submitted to the board for consideration in May.