65A - JAIL REUSE STUDY - Laserfiche WebLink

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In December 2017 after extensive discussion with a range of community residents, Santa Ana advocacy groups, immigrant family service providers as well as the Police Department and Jail staff, the City Council took steps to limit the total number of detainees who could be incarcerated in the City Jail under the contract agreement with ICE. The City Council voted to modify the ICE contract to reflect the new policy direction the Council wanted to pursue. Shortly after the City Council's actions, the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) California Administrator notified the Jail of their intent to terminate their inmate housing contract with the City within 90 days. After this notification, ICE began removing their contract prisoners from the detention facility. Many of the detainees were transferred to a new contract ICE had established with the Orange County Sheriffs Department for the temporary holding of ICE detainees. The loss of the ICE contract reduced the average daily inmate population at the Santa Ana Jail by nearly 250 inmates. This resulted in a new operating fiscal deficit of approximately $10.5 million, not including debt service. With the reduction in daily inmate occupancy caused by several factors (a decline in area criminal activity resulting in fewer arrests and bookings into the Jail, and the elimination of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract), the Santa Ana City Council decided to focus on repurposing the available floor space at the facility. With a two year temporary infusion of U. S. Marshal's Service inmate housing needs due to renovation activities at their Los Angeles facility and the question of how the Jail facility could provide future service to the community and/or potential income to the City, this Jail Reuse Feasibility Study was initiated. The Study focuses on the evaluation of several key reuse options of interest to the community and Council members. The Vanir consultant team worked with the City Manager's staff to develop and implement a series of analytical tasks which were designed to identify, evaluate, prioritize and key jail reuse options for City Council and community consideration. The scope of work and methodology the consultants followed was organized and carried out through six primary research and assessment steps. The overall approach focused on the following information and data collection: Task 1: Review of Current Detention System Issues and Reconfirm City Goals / Objectives and Overall Purpose For The Future Direction Of The City Jail. j The Vanir consultant team met with City staff in a "kick-off' meeting and Jail tour. The focus of the discussion included: ■ Background Information: Staff examined the operational history, budget trends, and other key background issues involving the City's Jail facility. • Scone of Work: staff reviewed the project's methodology, schedule, and consultant team's information listing request handout with City personnel. • Press Inquiries: The planning team established the process and lines of reporting for addressing press and public inquiries. ■ Jail Reuse Options: Staff also discussed the City's overall fiscal concerns, limitations, and other major factors which should be considered in the Jail reuse options analysis. Task 2: Collection and Analysis gf City Jail Population Trend Data, Staffing, Operational Costs and Inmate Programs / Services Information. The consultant team's data collection and analysis work focused on the following: 33 65A-40