Sheriff’s Race May Hinge on Who Holds Key to Jails

When the new chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors recently threw his support behind a privately run correctional system to take the key to county jails away from the Sheriff’s Department, he guaranteed one thing:

No other issue is likely to carry greater importance in this year’s election for sheriff, the first wide-open race in two decades for the county’s top law enforcement job.

The four major candidates seeking to succeed John Duffy are solidifying their campaign positions on the question of who should run the jails--the sheriff or a civilian director appointed by the five-member Board of Supervisors.

One candidate is insistent that the elected sheriff retain power over the county’s detention system. Another is willing to let the board have the jails. Two others are proposing compromises in which the sheriff would be the top jailer but supervise a staff of correctional officers with limited peace officer status and lower salaries.

And the local Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., whose endorsement is seen as critical in this year’s election, is arming itself against Supervisor Leon Williams and the rest of the board if they place the issue on this year’s ballot and ask the public for an advisory opinion on who best belongs in the jailhouse control room.

“We’re almost 100% unified that a department of corrections is the wrong way to go,” said Lt. Skip Murphy, deputy’s association president. “We’re talking to outside consultants about what we might have to do.

“Because we will not sit still if the Board of Supervisors decides to go through with it. We won’t roll over on this issue.”

His group has the backing of the California State Sheriff’s Assn., which helped the Santa Clara County deputy’s association try to defeat a similar proposal. The deputy’s group there spent $750,000 to challenge its Board of Supervisors, only to lose when a separate Department of Correction took control of the jails about a year ago.

“It’s one of those things that starts out with a flurry and somebody does it, like Santa Clara County, and then everybody looks at it and says, ‘Me too,’ ” said Al Cooper, legislative lobbyist for the state association.

“But it’s difficult for us to understand why five people elected to the Board of Supervisors would want the jails in the first place. It’s got to be the biggest headache in the county.”

Santa Clara County board members insist that they created their own corrections department for economic reasons, after becoming incensed with a series of million-dollar cost overruns posted by the sheriff. The new private agency will save $62 million in the first 10 years, county officials contend, mostly by reducing salaries and training schedules.

Money is the bottom line in San Diego too. Although still awaiting a financial analysis on switching jail leadership, Supervisors Williams and George Bailey outlined their position in an advisory letter, spelling out the rising costs of housing inmates in San Diego County.

“Faced with similar circumstances, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors initiated action to allow the board to take charge of their correctional facilities,” they said. “Discussions with Santa Clara County officials in November revealed that this action has enabled the county to reduce costs of operation and improve administrative procedures and operations.

“The time is now for San Diego County to determine whether or not we need to take similar action. Costs are accelerating to operate today’s facilities and will sky rocket to pay for tomorrow’s facilities.”

Duffy’s current budget is $110.8 million, with $52.5 million allocated for operation and support services for the detention facilities. Three years ago, the sheriff’s jail budget was $32 million.

The 1980s saw an explosion in the growth of inmate population. As of the middle of last week, the seven county jails were housing 4,269 inmates, along with an additional 750 inmates assigned to honor camps and work-furlough programs.

The jails now operate at 180% of rated capacity. And, even with completion of the new East Mesa Detention Facility and honor camp next year, with more than a 1,000 new beds, it is predicted that the jails will remain crowded.

Under those conditions, said Mel Nichols, commander of the sheriff’s detention facilities, it is all the more important to have highly trained deputy sheriffs staffing the jails. He said he personally believes the jails should remain under the aegis of sworn officers in the Sheriff’s Department, regardless of who is elected to replace Duffy.

“We’ve got some very, very competent administrators in our jail environment,” he said. But Jim Butler, a former military chaplain in Vista who is pushing for a deputy review board for the Sheriff’s Department, said a civilian jail system would bring a greater level of professionalism.

He faulted the current system because newly hired deputies are initially assigned to jail work and have a difficult time adjusting to patrol duty when they leave the jails.

“People in the jails come out of that assignment and feel like all the people, all the public, are like those criminals,” he said. “But police have to be people-oriented on the street, not criminal-oriented.”

The candidates have their own views, and Ray Hoobler, a former San Diego police chief, agrees with Butler that the sheriff should relinquish the jails. “I never foresee sufficient funds within this county to provide adequate custodial facilities,” he said. “So one positive aspect (for the sheriff) would be turn it over to a department of corrections.”

Another candidate, Jack Drown, one of Duffy’s assistant sheriffs, supports his boss’s unwavering position that the Sheriff’s Department is the best agency to manage the jails. “You don’t have to create a whole new bureaucracy and a whole new administration,” he said.

Vince Jimno, who is on leave from his post as Escondido police chief, said he would support a compromise measure in which correctional officers would be gradually hired to replace jail deputies. As the staff grew, the correctional officers would be promoted to front-line supervisors, but the Sheriff’s Department always would have ultimate authority in the jails.

“I think it’s cost-effective,” he said. “I think it’s good business. There’s no reason to have a cop be a jailer. That’s not why you send a guy to a police training academy.”

Jim Roache, captain of the sheriff’s Lemon Grove station, said he has a similar plan for staffing the jails, and he would build a career-ladder system to keep qualified correctional officers working the jails.

“I think it needs to be done no matter if a department of corrections is discussed or not,” Roache said. “It makes good logical sense.”