Monterey County Jail makes improvements after lawsuit

UPDATE 10/27/2016 8:30 PM:

It’s been more than a year since a federal class action lawsuit over conditions at the Monterey County Jail has been settled.

The 2013 lawsuit, Hernandez v. Monterey County, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and California Forensic Medical Group, alleged there wasn’t enough being done to keep inmates safe, addressed inmate suicides or handle those with mental health problems. While the jail was undergoing changes prior to litigation, the settlement mandated other changes.

During a tour of the jail on Thursday, Capt. Jim Bass highlighted some changes to address inmate safety. It included adding fencing to the second level of “pods,” so inmates couldn’t jump down onto the first floor and replacing security cameras.

Ernest Galvan, with the law firm Rosen Bien Galvan and Grunfeld LLP, represented the inmates in the suit. He said the cameras weren’t enough and felt the jail was still dangerous.

“The real gold standard is direct supervision, where staff are interacting with the inmates,” Galvan said. “Certainly the cameras are sort of a Band-Aid, they kind of help but it would be very dangerous just to rely on the camera as a security blanket because they are really no substitute for people.”

Other changes were in regards to inmates with disabilities. Toilets were moved and grab bars were added to facilities. In the visitor center, phones were lowered and desks were lowered and extended to accommodate wheelchairs. Sign language interpreters are also supposed to be available for inmates who use it as their only or primary method of communication.

Changes to medical care were also changed. According to the settlement agreement, a Dental Care Implementation Plan is supposed to ensure access to a safe and sanitary on or off-site facility for necessary dental care periodic dental care for long-term prisoners and access to dental hygiene supplies.

There’s also a Health Care Implementation Plan to ensure inmates with serious medical and/or mental health needs receive timely treatment. Any medication an inmate used prior to incarceration would continue after they arrived. Another change include intake screenings. Prior to the settlement, when inmates were initially screened, it was not by medical professions.

“The only thing that changed at the jail immediately, as a result of the litigation was the way in which they do medical screenings,” Galvan said. “Before they had custody officers, jail guards, screening incoming inmates for medical conditions, for detox treatment, mental health crises, all of which are very common in the jail population.”

Addressing mental health is something the jail is also working to improve. Bass said inmates with mental illnesses have increased over the years, growing steadily over the last three to five years. The jail is trying to accommodate their needs by allowing them to come out of their cells for longer periods of time and socializing with other inmates. They’ve also tried increasing the programs and classes in those particular units. Inmates under suicide watch are now undergoing a different recovery process.

“For those under extreme stress and under suicide watch or thinking of hurting themselves, the use of the safety cell has diminished a little bit, it’s a step down process,” Bass said. “If they are actively suicidal, they’ll continue to go to our safety cell. As they come out of that stage and may still be suicidal, but not in the active state, we’ll move them into a different cell to accommodate in the recovery, if you will.”

He said there have been no suicides in the jail this year but two last year, saying suicides ebb and flow. Other suicide prevention measures include changing vent covers where inmates tried hanging themselves, as well as closing gaps between beds and walls. Galvan said he’s happy that progress is being made.

“Those are all very positive developments,” Galvan said. “Time out of cell and not having people locked down is a very important factor, and is one of the changes they can do right away.”

The jail has a history of being overpopulated, and that did not change on Thursday. It has a capacity of 825 inmates and on this particular day, there were roughly 930 inmates. While it is still a high number, Bass said it’s a dramatic decrease from their peak several years ago when there were 1,250 inmates housed at the jail. He credits the expansion of work alternative programs, coordinating with probation and pre-trial services and releasing some inmates on their own recognizance.

The improvements were supposed to be fully implemented in August but some projects got extensions. The Sheriff’s Office is doing its own auditing to make sure it is following through with the recommendations but is also working with outside observers who can come in twice a year and evaluate the jail.

“There are monitors that have come out of this settlement, with the Hernandez litigation and that is, is really over five key areas: first being medical, mental health is another one, dental, ADA and jail security,” Bass said.

Representatives from RBGG are expected in Salinas next week to get a progress report on the improvements.

ORIGINAL POST:

It’s been more than a year since a federal class action lawsuit over conditions at the Monterey County Jail has been settled.

The 2013 lawsuit, Hernandez v. Monterey County, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and California Forensic Medical Group, alleged the jail was violent, unconstitutional and lacked basic ADA protections. While the jail was undergoing changes prior to litigation, the settlement mandated other changes.

During a tour on Thursday, Capt. Jim Bass highlighted some changes to address inmate safety. It included added bars to the second level of “pods,” so inmates couldn’t jump down onto the first floor, additional and replacement of security cameras and different vent covers to prevent inmate suicides.

Most of the changes had to be done by August, however some of the deadlines on some of the projects were changed.

KION’s Mariana Hicks takes a look at some of the other changes coming up tonight at 5 and 6 p.m.