NCJ Number
176916
Date Published
1996
Length
91 pages
Annotation
As required by California Penal Code Section 6031.2, this is the 1996 biennial report to the California Legislature on the status of the State's 422 jails (local detention facilities) and the status of the County Correctional Facilities Capital Expenditure Fund (Jail Construction Fund) administered by the State Board of Corrections (BOC).
Abstract
The report's opening section summarizes the state of the jails in California, including critical issues currently facing detention facilities. The middle section describes the BOC's jail inspection process, including results of the latest biennial inspection cycle. The last section provides a complete historical description of the Jail Construction Fund, including bed space added, funds allocated and expended, and future construction needs. The report shows that since its inception in 1980 and through a series of five voter-approved bond measures, the $1.5 billion Jail Construction Fund, in conjunction with $642 million in local matching funds, has more than doubled county jail capacity from 31,824 beds in 1980 to 66,358 beds in 1996. Despite this successful facility design and capacity building effort, it has not been able to keep pace with demand for local jail bed space. Continued statewide population growth and public demand for anti-crime measures have combined to fuel demand for jail space that has far outstripped capacity. Strategies must be developed to maintain the State's multibillion-dollar investment in local jails; add needed bed space, including sufficient maximum-security beds; keep facilities operating in compliance with minimum standards; and ensure that current capacity is not lost due to insufficient funding for operations or lack of necessary physical plant maintenance. Ways in which the BOC is working with counties and cities to meet these challenges are outlined in this report. Appendixes provide supplementary information, including inspection results by facility and county summaries of all jail construction funded by State bonds during the past 16 years.