The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 732

CosAnjjetesSimes 4 Part IXSunday, October 7, 1984 HD JAILS: Prisoners Booked, Sent On liability; it's very costly." However, it would be too time-consuming to send prisoners to the Lakewood Sheriff's Station, McCrary said. The Signal Hill jail, site of football star Ron Settles' 1981 hanging death, was "highly commended" by last year's county grand jury. Police departments complain that damage to cells by prisoners is considerable. Bored and angry prisoners etch graffiti into the wall with shoe rubber, pins, buttons and their fingernails, police said. Prisoners stuff blankets, mattress covers and toilet paper into the toilets and flood the cells.

That is one reason the Bell Gardens Police Department jail became a temporary holding facility, keeping prisoners for only 4 hours before sending them to the East Los Angeles Sheriff's Station, said Bell Gardens Lt. Richard Webb. An estimated 20 prisoners are held temporarily every week, he said. "We used to be a full-time (48-hour) jail, but ittook a tremendous amount of time and resources to maintain," Webb said. The cost of maintenance now is one-tenth of what it was before the jail became a 4-hour holding facility a year ago, he said.

But the dark gray walls of the cells, painted just three months ago, still show signs of graffiti, apparently scratched into the paint with pants' zippers. To check on prisoners, a detective in the field has to log in every RICK CORRALES Los Angeles Times Janitor cleans hallway adjoining juvenile detention facility at refurbished Huntington Park jail. keep prisoners up to 48 hours than send them to the nearest sheriff's station, Heidke said. That way, detectives can question prisoners there and do not have to stand in long lines for visits at the county jail during their investigations. Police departments in Huntington Park, South Gate and Whittier, which are housed next to municipal courthouses, also keep their prisoners up to 48 hours.

"Why tie up officers in transportation (to the nearest sheriff's station)?" asked Huntington Park Police Chief Geano Contessotto. Sending prisoners to the county sheriffs "would be administratively less headache, but you lose your manpower." Jail Repaired Appalled by the dungeon-like appearance of the Huntington Park jail when he took over his post in June, 1983, Contessotto said he persuaded the city to spend $20,000 on repairs, including sandblasting, painting, air conditioning, new lights and a smoke alarm system. This year, the city will spend $15,000 for a video monitoring system and $16,000 for plumbing fixtures, including new toilets and painting recommended in the board's 1984 report, Contessotto said. South Gate's jail holds some 8,000 prisoners yearly and employs five full-time jailers, Police Capt. George said.

With a maximum capacity of 35, the 1949 jail is one of the county's largest and oldest 48-hour facilities. "To transfer (prisoners) out would be a nightmare," because of sheer volume, George said. In departments t)hat send prisoners out, he said, "detectives are generally not very happy about going to county jail to interview prisoners in custody. It hinders investigations and slows them down. We are really forced to maintain our facility." After the board cited the jail kitchen for cockroach infestation, weekly fumigation was begun, George said.

At the Whittier Police Department jail, mattress covers were not issued in the past because of fears that prisoners might use them to hang themselves, said Sgt. Art Schroll. Now, with the installation of a video monitoring system, covers will be issued, he said. Signal Hill Police Chief Michael McCrary said his department would "rather get out of the jail business. Operating a jail is a big "We can't afford to make this a permanent holding facility," he said, surveying the dimly lighted cells.

"It just costs little cities too much when the rules change all the time. If it gets any worse, we're just going to make this a storeroom." half hour, Webb said, and even that surveillance cannot prevent serious problems. Six months ago, a prisoner under the influence of PCP died of meningitis between jail checks, he said. Since then, the station takes every prisoner under the influence of PCP directly to the sheriff's jail ward at USC Medical Center for booking, Webb said. Even though the jail was built only five years ago, the city has not been able to keep up with new and stricter regulations, Webb said.

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La Mirada Mall Close to Thrifty BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS BEAUTIFUL PRICE Continued from Page 1 utilities, maintenance, repairs, food and utensils from the pared-down schedule. Increased inspections, tightened requirements and the high costs of maintaining a jail are forcing more and more cities like Compton out of the jail business, said South Gate Police Capt. Ronald George, who teaches jail management at Cal Poly, Pomona. In the Southeast, the Compton and Bell Gardens police departments both converted last year from 48-hour to temporary (up to 9 hours) jails, which are subject to fewer regulations, George said. The Montebello Police Department jail became a temporary holding facility in 1979, and Downey's jail has always been a temporary holding facility.

Small city jails in the past were "sort of a necessary evil," George said. But closer scrutiny has caused them to become more professional over the past decade. Short-term jails now "are really starting to pay closer attention to their operation," he said. Jails are inspected annually by the county Department of Health Services, the county grand jury and fire marshals and every two years by the state Board of Corrections. In its June, 1984, report to the Legislature, the board found "very satisfactory" health conditions and up-to-date safety training in most Los Angeles area jails but seven Southeast jails were among about 30 cited as needing improvements in health procedures and medical instructions to jailers.

The board also recommended replacement of the 46-year-old May wood jail because its poor design "is dangerous for inmates and officers," said John Pederson, field representative for the board. $900,000 to Replace The Maywood City Council has not yet discussed replacing the jail, which the board estimated would cost almost $900,000. Spokesmen for Southeast jails included in the board's recommendations said that all of the substandard conditions had been corrected or were currently being repaired. Among them: Ripped mattresses and inadequate cleaning in the jail kitchen and some cells at the Bell Gardens Police Department jail, a 4-hour facility with a capacity of eight prisoners. Chipped aluminum toilets and walls needing a coat of paint at the Huntington Park Police Department jail, a 48-hour facility with a capacity of 18.

Cockroach infestation in the kitchen of the South Gate Police Department jail, a 48-hour facility with a capacity of 35. Grate missing over a floor toilet and no mattress covers at Whittier Police Department jail, a 48-hour facility with a capacity of 16. Grate missing over a floor toilet, inadequate supply of towels and shaving supplies at Compton Police Department jail, a 6-hour facility with a capacity of 54. Gun locker inside security area needed to be moved outside security area at the Signal Hill Police Department jail, a 48-hour facility with a capacity of 9. The cells were dirty and there was an inadequate supply of bedding and linen at Maywood Police Department jail, a 48-hour facility with a capacity of 8.

In addition, all the spokesmen said they had added written instructions on medical procedures for jail personnel as recommended by the board. Pederson, the board's field representative, said the Maywood jail is "very old, very poorly designed," with a booking area that "is dangerous for inmates and officers" because of its immediate access to an outside door. It would cost less to replace the Maywood jail than to renovate it to comply with state jail standards, the board said. Cities like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills have jails older than Maywood's but employ full-time jailers and have made considerable design changes over the years, Pederson said. In Maywood, a police dispatcher serves as jailer.

'Catch-22' He conceded, however, that Maywood probably cannot afford to build a new jail. "That's the Catch-22" in the board's recommendations, he said. "There's not money readily available." Maywood Mayor William Hamilton said the City Council has not considered building a new jail. "We know darn well that expense-wise, it's something we couldn't do," he said. Besides, he said, "We're not going to build a hotel" for the prisoners.

Moreover, Maywood Police Chief Ted Heidke sees no urgent need for the jail's replacement. No one has ever escaped from the jail, he said. Though the cells are old, the bunks are too narrow and there is no air conditioning, Heidke said, the jail is clean and serves its purpose. "When your maximum detention is two days, how elaborate a jail do you need?" he asked. "It's not a modern jail, and we're not especially proud of it, but it's not inhuman." It is more convenient for the Maywood Police Department to OUR PROFESSIONAL PORTRAIT COLLECTION 3-5x7s, 15 Wallets II Includes 95 deposit.

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