LAKE TULLOCH ALLIANCE » New Jail Required if Growth Continues

Saying that growing crime rates here are a menace to the public, the 2005-2006 Calaveras County Grand Jury is urging the Board of Supervisors to reduce population growth by curtailing new development until a new jail is built.

“Calaveras County Board of Supervisors should immediately plan to fund a new jail facility, including taking the unpopular possibility of a bond measure to the voters. Further plans for development within the County should be curtailed pending plans to bring the law enforcement infrastructure up to a level able to support additional population density growth,” the jury said in its final report made public this week.

The full report is posted on the Internet at www.co.calaveras.ca.us/departments/grand_jury.asp. A printed version of the full report also will be included in Friday editions of the Calaveras Enterprise.

The report, the most in-depth by any recent county grand jury, also details complaints made against various special districts in the county and management questions raised by an independent auditor hired to examine bookkeeping and money handling by the county and its agencies.

Noteworthy was a segment dealing with the management of the Calaveras County Water District.

The report states that in 2005 employee turnover at CCWD was about 60 percent: “Poor personnel practices at CCWD are responsible for this high turnover rate,” the jury said.

Examples cited include: Newly hired field personnel placed in positions without the necessary experience and/or training resulting in dismissal for lack of performance; employees unable to advance on the pay scale because of the lack of opportunity to obtain a higher level of certification, so they seek other employment; and “Intimidation and micro-management by the previous General Manager.”

The water district’s board, as is the case with other agencies criticized in the grand jury report, is required to respond to any material in the report within 90 days.

In calling for supervisors to curb development in the county, the jury said when the jail was built in 1963 to house a maximum 47 inmates, the county’s population was 11,000. Today it’s nearer 49,000.

The aging structure no longer meets jail standards, including the area where inmates are moved between the jail and the courts, and because of that it “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.”

“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,” the grand jury said. “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 jury said, “Knowing little or no time will be served, more sophisticated offenders are choosing ‘incarceration’ over fines, probation, and other sanctions.”

The report states a growing county population is bringing 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.”

The jury, citing Probation Department data, said that the Valley Springs area has the highest number of felony drug crimes while Angels Camp and San Andreas come in second and third.

“As with any type of public infrastructure, a ‘bottleneck’ or ‘choke point’ will limit the ability of that agency to be effective,” the jury said. “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.”

Contact Buzz Eggleston at gm@calaverasenterprise.com.