‘02 Report Cited Jail Errors

A year before the recent spate of jailhouse killings in the Men’s Central Jail, state regulators criticized Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca for failing to require hourly checks of inmates there.

State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said Friday she was concerned that some of the problems cited in a Board of Corrections report continued to plague the county jails, where five inmates have been killed in the last seven months.

The deaths, including the killing of a witness allegedly by the inmate he had testified against, have led to several inquiries and calls for major changes in jail operations.

“We can’t ignore it any longer,” Romero said after a tour of Men’s Central in downtown Los Angeles. “These individuals did not get death sentences.... These are tragedies that need not be.”

The lack of frequent checks, which the report said had been a recurring problem at the main jail, may have played a role in recent killings. In several cases, authorities said, guards did not learn about the deaths for many hours.

Romero, chairwoman of the upper house’s oversight committee on California’s correctional system, has scheduled a Senate hearing next week in Los Angeles to investigate inmate security, staffing and supervision in the county jails. Some of the expected participants are representatives from the Board of Corrections, the Office of Independent Review and the California State Sheriffs’ Assn.

The December 2002 report said Los Angeles County was out of compliance with California regulations that required at least hourly safety checks at Men’s Central. Inspectors cited overall staffing shortages -- tied to funding issues -- as key problems.

“Staffing is linked to the ability to make personal, hourly safety checks as required by regulations,” the report said. “This issue has been raised regularly as an area of noncompliance” in previous Board of Corrections inspections.

At Men’s Central, the report singled out two dorms, including housing for gay inmates. “In these dorms,” according to the report, “checks are made from the staff stations, and not all inmates in these crowded dorms can be observed.”

During the tour Friday, Romero viewed the sites of the slayings and heard descriptions of each death.

Standing in the room where one inmate was killed, she said: “This seems even more dismal than I’ve seen [in] some state prisons. It’s striking to me.”

She also questioned sheriff’s officials about ways to improve security at the jail and about the daily classification and movement of inmates.

“Are you playing musical chairs?” Romero asked.

“Every day,” Capt. Anthony Argott responded.

“Or are you playing musical chairs on the Titanic?”

“It works,” Argott said. “We’re not sinking.”

Romero said several aspects of the County Jail system should be addressed, including the ratio of deputies to inmates; the supervision of inmates; and the housing and movement of “keep-aways” -- inmates ordered separated from other inmates.

Sheriff’s officials told Romero that they had made several changes since the killings.

Chuck Jackson, chief of the Correctional Services Division of the Sheriff’s Department, said the agency planned to increase vocational and educational programs at Men’s Central.

Romero said state prisons and county jails throughout California faced similar problems of crowding, lack of resources and assaults.

“Essentially, Los Angeles County is a canary for the state of California, a sign of things to come,” she said.