65A - JAIL REUSE STUDY - Laserfiche WebLink

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Overall Assessment and Summary Conclusions The Santa Ana City Jail has a Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) rated custody housing capacity for 480 inmates. The facility has a physical total capacity of 512 beds. The jail consists of both single, double -occupancy, and dormitory housing settings. The combination of settings allows for a flexible placement of inmates that adjusts with fluctuating classification and security population needs. The detention facility was originally constructed as a new generation podular jail with direct supervision tiered inmate housing units with adjacent dayrooms, classrooms, medical space, visiting, and general circulation. The Jail is extremely well maintained and professionally managed. Assignment of inmates to security status is based upon the consistent application of rational classification and segregation practices. Maximum inmate -staff interaction is encouraged in order to reduce staff stress, conflict, and related problems of inmates' management including security. The jail uses a combination of supervision, inspection, accountability, and clearly defined policies and procedures on the use of security to promote safe and orderly operations. The day-to-day operation of the facility is consistent with the principals of detention supervision and management and Correctional Officers work to meet at all times minimum jail standards as defined in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations. The BSCC Biennial Jail Inspections show that the personnel employed in the facility are in full compliance with jail operations training provisions contained in Title 15 and facility operations and the physical plant meet minimum jail operational standards. The building and systems condition assessment and evaluation work carried out for the Jail Reuse Study shows the detention facility has three key problem areas that includes (1) lack of sufficient ADA compliant medical and mental health treatment space, (2) lack of adequate classroom and program space for peak populations, and (3) aging security electronics equipment and plumbing systems throughout the facility. The medical and mental health treatment areas are severely deficient in space compared to other medium-sized detention facilities in California of the comparable age. The jail is also in need of some security system upgrades. Out-of-date and difficult to use equipment puts an undue hardship on staff. Current classroom space is also inadequate to serve a maximum population. Ideally, the facility's program space should be large enough to conduct a wide range of programs and services made available through contract professional providers and volunteers from the community. The building's plumbing piping is also in need of repair or replacement. A comparative analysis with 19 California jails with predominately double -occupancy cells and rated capacities for 300.600 inmates like the City Jail shows that the facility's functional use areas are generally consistent with space allocations among these facilities. The exceptions, however, include medical / mental health space, administration area, Central Control room, and smaller dayrooms located adjacent to the existing eight inmate housing units. The average square foot per bed devoted to inmate programming activities and visitation are also slightly lower. The most significant interior space difference appears to involve the medical /mental health services area which is nearly 6-1/2 square feet lower per rated inmate bed than other comparable California detention facilities. From an outdoor jail perspective, the overall size of the vehicle sallyport is slightly larger than the average of the facilities included in the comparative analysis. The analysis further shows that the facility's quasi -outdoor recreation yards are somewhat smaller compared to other California jails. The City Jail devotes nearly 16.5 square feet of total building space per rated bed to recreation while the comparison facilities allocate approximately 23.4 square feet per bed. The following provides a series of photographs highlighting key space and functional use area operations in the Santa Ana City Jail. 50 65A-57