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| Extra beds to beat jail overcrowding |
| By Jonah Owen Lamb |
| Published: 04/21/2009 |
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The Merced County Sheriff's Department has begun putting in three-tiered bunks at its John Latorraca Correctional Facility to slow overcrowding and a lack of space for inmates. In effect, that increases the number of beds in the jail. But some claim it's just a way to pack more inmates into an already overcrowded jail. Using $100,000 in state funds for the jail's 100 triple-tiered bunks was approved in November 2008 by the Board of Supervisors. The bunks will increase the number of beds in some dorms to 27 from 22. So far, only five of 24 dorms have been switched over. "Bringing in the extra beds allows us to keep people off the floor," said sheriff's spokesman Tom MacKenzie. The hope is to put three-tiered bunks in all of the 24 dorms, eventually increasing the number of beds in the jail by more than 150. But not all are pleased with the new sleeping arrangements. "It's good they don't have to sleep on the floor, but it doesn't fix the underlying problem that is overcrowding," said Merced County Sheriff's Employee Association spokesman Jeff Miller. "Adding a third bunk just appears to us that they are taking them off the floor to add more inmates." The John Latorraca Correctional Facility's inmate capacity, according to the state, is 564. As of Monday the facility had 582 inmates, said MacKenzie. The most recent biannual report -- issued in September 2008 -- by the state body that regulates jails, the Corrections Standards Authority, found that the Latorraca was out. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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