A new era for Napa jail
The proposed community corrections service center will be aimed at reducing recidivism as well as inmate population at Napa jail. Register file photo |
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Proposal: Revamp inmate treatment, redesign jailhouse
By JILLIAN JONES
Register Staff Writer
On Monday Napa County will propose a radical overhaul of county’s corrections system, including expansion and redesign of the jail.
Monday’s presentation is the culmination of nearly four years of work by officials from the county’s criminal justice system, including representatives from the police and sheriff’s departments, the Department of Corrections and the District Attorney’s office.
Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved the committee’s request to explore a corrections system based as much on treating offenders, when appropriate, as on locking them up. On Monday, the committee returns to the board with specific recommendations for a criminal justice system unlike any other in the state of California.
The proposal, if approved, would create a Community Corrections Service Center in the downtown Hall of Justice. The day center, open seven days a week, would function as a one-stop shop for the supervision and treatment of criminals. The purpose of the day center would be to treat selected offenders for substance abuse and other problems, thereby decreasing recidivism rates — the number of times offenders go on to commit crimes again.
Programs would include anger management, domestic violence management, substance abuse intervention and life and parenting skills.
In some cases, participation would take the place of jail time. In other cases, participation would merely reduce the length of the offender’s jail sentence.
The goals of the new system are to reduce recidivism, increase safety and security of inmates and increase the number of inmates who successfully reintegrate into the community.
As proposed, the center would open with an initial capacity of 50, and the average length of participation would be three to nine months.
Programs would also be available to 50 inmates at the jail.
These services would cost about $1.2 million a year, according to Britt Ferguson, assistant county executive officer.
If successful, the practices would save money on the expansion of the jail itself, which is already overcrowded in some sections.
In addition to the day center, the Criminal Justice Committee will recommend Monday that the county plan for a new or expanded jail to meet the projected need of 366 jail beds by 2025, with the ability to expand to up to 500 beds.
Officials project the jail would need an additional 100 beds without programs to decrease recidivism.
The current jail, designed 30 years ago, has 277 beds.
Ferguson said there are three options for the expansion of the jail, two of which would allow for the jail to remain at its current downtown site.
In the first scenario, the county would tear down part of the current jail facility — the Hall of Justice — to renovate and expand the jail. In an alternate scenario, the county would build an entirely new jail at the current site.
The final option would involve building a new jail outside the downtown area. Ferguson calls this option “problematic,” noting security and transportation concerns when moving inmates from another location to the county courthouse.
County officials Monday will recommend that the jail remain downtown, though they will continue to examine whether the jail should be renovated or rebuilt, Ferguson said.
The proposed jail features a mental health unit with dedicated beds and trained staff, as well as video visitation stations.
The jail would be built in phases so as to continue to house inmates. Ferguson said the construction is at least three to five years away.
Molly Rattigan, analyst for the corrections system, said no other counties in California have systems quite like the one Napa County is proposing.
“This is pretty cutting-edge stuff,” Ferguson said. “We are ahead of most jurisdictions.”
The meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. Monday at the Napa County Office of Education, 2121 Imola Ave., Napa.
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