Downtown Sacramento’s Main Jail opened in 1989 and was built to accommodate over 2,000 individuals. It was considered a state-of-the-art facility, comparable to a small city with all its amenities. The jail was primarily designed to house minor offenders with short sentences or those awaiting trial. However, after 22 years, Assembly Bill 109 was passed, which shifted the responsibility of housing certain prison inmates to county sheriffs across California.
Now, fast forward to 2023, where I am currently the Sacramento County Sheriff. I have inherited a nearly 35-year-old building that now houses state prison inmates, including some of the most dangerous and sophisticated criminals we’ve ever seen. Furthermore, we are operating under a new Federal Consent Decree. The changes in the jail population occurred as lawmakers decided to reduce penalties for serious crimes, leading to an increase in criminals being sent to county jails instead of state prisons. Unfortunately, the necessary resources and staff were not provided to sheriffs to cope with these new mandates.
Opinion
The conversion of this facility into both a jail and prison for inmates serving sentences poses an unprecedented security challenge that did not exist in 1989. Additionally, the challenges have been exacerbated by the fact that these inmates can now spend several years in jail, sometimes even longer.
Our jails were not originally constructed to accommodate this long-term inmate population. It was the responsibility of state prisons to provide inmates with essential services and programs, such as healthcare and rehabilitation initiatives to reduce re-offending rates.
The Main Jail is currently overwhelmed by an increasingly sophisticated and violent inmate population, as well as inmates with acute medical needs. While recent deaths at the Main Jail have made headlines, the root causes of these deaths have not been adequately addressed.
While there have been two significant cases of inmate-on-inmate assaults this year, the focus should be on the gross inadequacies of the county department responsible for jail health services, known as Adult Correctional Health (ACH). It is not a mere coincidence that most of the deaths at the jail have been medically related. In the past, the sheriff had control over medical care within the facility, but that control was transferred to ACH, a separate county agency that I have no jurisdiction over. ACH now provides 24/7 healthcare services to the entire inmate population.
It is worth noting that ACH is one of the major issues addressed in the Consent Decree, and unfortunately, I do not have the authority to rectify this situation.
I do not make these allegations of incompetence lightly. There are numerous examples of poor and substandard medical care within ACH. There are significant shortages of staff at all levels, from nurses to physicians, resulting in ongoing staffing issues during nights and weekends. Moreover, there is a significant lack of supervision and managerial oversight. Additionally, ACH’s medical director has been on administrative leave since July.
I would be negligent not to address the issue of contraband within the facility. This includes dangerous narcotics, cell phones, and tools used for weapon manufacturing. Upon learning of these issues, I assigned an entire investigative unit from our Centralized Investigations Division to tackle the problem. However, during the course of the investigation, attorneys representing inmates demanded a physical search of deputies, which is not a standard practice in any jail or prison facility in the state, including the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Our investigation swiftly determined that a civilian employee from ACH was responsible for bringing contraband into the jail. However, I have no authority over the hiring, disciplining, or firing processes of this employee.
As the investigation progressed, our detectives discovered another individual attempting to smuggle 40 grams of methamphetamine into the jail. This person had been released from the jail just days earlier and was due to appear in court. The problem is multi-faceted, but it does not involve my employees. Criticisms of my department by the Prison Law Office have been reactionary and disconnected from reality.
It is time for a change. I want the inmates to receive proper healthcare and the necessary assistance to leave jail and reintegrate into society. However, I require the authority to transfer high-risk inmates to a more suitable facility. If this is not possible, we need to explore alternative solutions for correctional healthcare, such as privatizing healthcare services in our jails.
Jim Cooper is the sheriff of Sacramento County.
