Solving chronic overcrowding at Santa Barbara County's main jail will require building a new, 300-bed facility in the North County while also spending millions on prevention, intervention and treatment of “conditions that contribute to people committing crimes.”

Those are the firm conclusions of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Jail Overcrowding that spent the past year studying why there are more criminals than available jail beds, a dilemma plaguing the county for decades. Recommendations by the 20-member commission - composed of experts from government, law enforcement, mental health agencies, homeless shelters, business and two universities - will be outlined for county supervisors today at a meeting in Santa Maria.

The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. today at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway. The agenda can also be read or downloaded by going to www.countyofsb.org/index.asp and clicking on the “Board of Supervisors Agenda/Minutes” link.

The blue-ribbon panel appointed by Sheriff Bill Brown strongly underscores the need for a new facility, proposed near Santa Maria, which would be both a jail for county inmates and a secure re-entry facility for state prisoners nearing release to Santa Barbara County. However, adding more jail space is not enough, the commission adds.

“The effective solution will involve increasing the capacity of the jail system and addressing the conditions that contribute to people committing crimes and ending up in jail,” it states in a 56-page report, concluding that both aspects are crucial.

It urges a “blended strategy” of adding the 300 jail beds while also committing $5.8 million to an array of “prevention, intervention and recovery programs.” Those would be aimed at the types of people who make up the vast majority of jail inmates: drug and alcohol abusers, mentally ill and homeless persons, and gang members.

Nearly 85 percent of inmates are substance abusers, 38 percent admit to gang involvement, 29 percent are “utilizing mental health medications” and 18 percent are homeless, according to statistics in the report.

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It says 12 percent of inmates in 2007 “were in the United States illegally.”

There are compelling reasons, especially public safety, for spending the millions each year it will take to effectively deal with all the factors contributing to inmate overcrowding, the report notes.

“Jail overcrowding, and the subsequent early release of inmates, result in less accountability” for criminals, it states. “This practice erodes respect for the criminal justice system, threatens public safety and negatively impacts the quality of community life.”

State funding may be available to cover as much as three-fourths of the estimated $80 million cost of building a new, 300-bed jail, if that facility is combined with a 500-bed prisoner re-entry facility. However, “this funding opportunity may only exist in 2008.” The construction and operating costs of the re-entry facility would be paid entirely by the state.

Operating the new jail, however, would cost the county between $12 million and $15 million a year, according to the report.

In allocating that money, and the $5.8 million annually for prevention-treatment programs, county supervisors should resist cutting other services, the report adds. To do so, a “new revenue stream” will be needed, probably “an increase in the county sales tax, a parcel tax, or a mix of the two,” the ad-hoc commission concluded.

Brown said Monday he strongly supports all of the recommendations made by the panel.

“I think the commission has put forward a bold and creative plan, but I also think it's achievable and will have a very strong impact on our jail overcrowding problem,” he added. “I strongly encourage the supervisors and the citizens of Santa Barbara County to support these recommendations.”

Those recommendations will be discussed by the supervisors one day before a proposal for building the North County jail just outside the Santa Maria city limits is presented to the county Planning Commission.

At a meeting in Santa Maria Wednesday, the commission will be asked to determine whether a jail at that location would be consistent with the county's general plan, which designates the proposed site as agricultural land even though it is industrially zoned.

The property in question is 50 acres owned by farmer Ed Sutti at the southwest corner of Black and Betteravia roads. How much the county would pay for his land has yet to be determined.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY JAIL REPORT

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. today at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway. The agenda can be read or downloaded by going to www.countyofsb.org/index.asp and clicking on the “Board of Supervisors Agenda/Minutes” link.

Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@santamariatimes.com.

February 12, 2008