This is what we call our main housing facility. We can house about 1500 here and we have all
types of classifications from minimum security to maximum security people
This county jail doesn't look a lot different from a state prison.
The cellblocks are alike - the metal cots and stainless steel toilets are pretty standard.
But take a closer look and you see the obvious - empty cells. In fact, so many this entire
cellblock can be closed to inmates while repairs are made.
Just across the road is Donovan state prison so packed the gymnasium is stacked with inmates,
three bunks high.
This crowding is what's driving the decision to send thousands of convicted felons who
used to be sentenced to state prisons to local jails.
But make no mistake this is not a good story, Sacramento has failed the taxpayers again,
this time they're playing with the safety of San Diego residents.
San Diego's public safety officials made this presentation to the Board of Supervisors earlier
this week about the impact of 2000 new inmates to San Diego's jails.
Called non, non, nons for short, they are non-violent, non-serious, non-sexual offenders.
And those non non nons include identity theft of huge proportions, vehicular manslaughter,
drug dealers, commercial burglars, and the list goes on and on.
We estimate that 85 percent of this population will need substance abuse services and 20
percent will need specialty mental health care from our past experience with delivering
these types of services its estimated about half will show up for services, there fore
it will cost the health and human agency 8 million to provide behavioral health treatment
to 50 per cent of this population.
The bottom line - the inmates are going to cost San Diego about $100 million dollars
a year. The state so far, has committed to paying part of that amount - about $65 million.
But money to process and house the inmates - by next year these empty beds will be full
- isn't the only concern.
<The concern is long term inmates and providing programs so they're not warehoused, just sitting
here 18 months to four years in a bunk with nothing to do.">
Gore is worried about whether he'll be able to provide rehabilitation programs to inmates
- or whether county jail will become another revolving door in the criminal justice system.
<to avoid doing that we're going to need some money to do effective programming inside our
facility and then have services available for these people to transition to in the community
so they're not just kicked out the door and given a bus ticket back to the old neighborhood.">
Right now, county inmates serve an average of 75 days - the new inmates will stay on
average 18 months - some of them six or even 8 years.
< "we, everyone in public safety has a vested interest in making these people successful
so that when they re-enter our neighborhood they're not going to have to burglarize your
house or steel my car, or whatever, to make a living, hopefully they'll have some skills
and be able to support themselves.">
<to me it's a moral responsibility first of all these people are in my care and custody
and from a fiscal stand point if I can make them successful when they get out of here
so they're not right back in here in 18 months to me that's morally the right thing and fiscally
the right thing to do so to me it's a no-brainer.">