Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
After years of negotiations, Plaintiffs’ Counsel, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the County of Santa Barbara have reached a settlement in Clay Murray et al v. County of Santa Barbara et al, a class-action lawsuit regarding conditions of confinement at the County Jail.
Subject to court approval, the settlement binds the County and the Sheriff’s Office to changes already implemented and future significant commitments to improve living conditions for people confined in the jail. The County and the Sheriff’s Office have been implementing process improvements and advancements over the last several years consistent with the settlement plan. The settlement plan will result in more out of cell time for inmates, specialized mental health units and timelines to address different acuity levels of medical and mental health conditions, increased observation of actively suicidal inmates and decreased use of safety cells. Improvements to the physical plant of the Main Jail will provide ADA-related modifications and adequate space for programming for vulnerable populations, and will allow their increased participation in therapeutic recreational activities.
Both the Sheriff and the County have agreed to continue to address the Jail’s asserted deficiencies until durable solutions are implemented. Many of the plan requirements have been partially or completely implemented already.
Sheriff Brown made the following statement about the settlement:
“This negotiated settlement represents a milestone in our agency’s delivery of correctional services to those in our Custody. It sets the path toward much needed improvements in the processes, programs, and overall environment of the entire Main Jail campus. As these measures are implemented, we will be able to provide better correctional services to our incarcerated community members.
Although our Custody professionals have performed admirably for years, they have been hampered in their efforts by limited resources and an obsolete and inefficient jail facility that is more than 50 years old. The much-welcomed subject matter expert evaluations and remedial plans that are a part of this agreement will pave the way toward a comprehensive community of care for the entire inmate population.
I appreciate the support and commitment from the Board of Supervisors to make this agreement a reality, and am grateful for the hard and skillful work of Custody staff and members of the County Counsel’s Office in helping bring us all together with a roadmap for future progress. As we enter into this agreement we know there will be many difficulties in meeting the myriad of requirements it contains, but I have confidence that the dedicated men and women in our Custody Operations Branch will rise up and see to it that we meet those challenges.”
A copy of the settlement agreement is available at: https://www.sbsheriff.org/class-action-stipulated-judgement-and-notice-of-settlement/
The Sheriff is a hypocrite. The age of the existing jail does not mean that it cannot function in a humane way. His, and his predecessor’s policies, created the mess. He simply wanted it to fail so he could build a new palace of confinement. He bullied and coopted other elected officials to this task, ignoring the votes of the public. We should have, long ago, built alternative care places for treatment of mental health issues, substance dependence and other instigators of “crime.”
RHS – you should work as a guard in the jail. Then perhaps you will be able to comment from an informed position.
GTownie–I have spent hours of time in the jail over decades. I have seen the crude attitude of the guards to inmates and their needs. I have experienced intentional acts of delay and subversion by these guards. They are trained into a culture of masochism, perceived victimhood and are always on the angle to maximize their salary and retirement and other benefits. Jail guards should not even be in the Sheriff’s Office, that is a conflict of interest per se.
RHS, from your comments I knew you had worked at the jail. Thank you for your accurate observations. I did also, with another Sheriff. It hasn’t changed one bit. The admin told us they did not want to set up alternative facilities or even programs to help drug dependency or mental health “offenders”. Of the ten “tanks” (grouping) of prisoners coming to the dining facilities each day, only one was considered dangerous. They laughingly pointed out the drug and mental health people (other words were used) and admitted that jail expansion with non violent offenders helped their career chances. A proposed facility to help with these people was quashed. Not only would it have helped with recidivism (tendency to reoffend) rate and got them back to work, it would have saved the County millions.
I know from experience (family members and friends have been in there) that our jail is horrendous. It NEEDS humane upgrades. What a joke the system is. Punitive actions do not heal a community, especially where drugs are concerned. Shame that people profit off of other’s pain.
100% correct! Thank you. We need new and compassionate ways of dealing with addiction or our country is just going to stay the mess it is.
I’ve worked in local law enforcement and the County Jail is a total inhumane and insecure disgrace. The age of the building is not an excuse when the staff are predominantly cruel, lazy and stupid. They just caught two employees who forced female inmates to have sex with them for basic services. After a two year investigation. Sheriff Brown needs to go, his jail and department are cesspools accountable to no one.