Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Every two years, the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) branch of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation conducts inspections of local detention and temporary holding facilities in accordance with the California Penal Code. Facilities operated by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department were inspected on February 4 through 6, 2008. The facilities inspected included the Pretrial Detention Facility (PTDF), Todd Road Jail, East County Jail, as well as the lock-up areas of the Hall of Justice, East County Court, and Juvenile Justice Center Court facilities. A written report was sent to Sheriff Bob Brooks at the end of April.
The PTDF and Todd Road Jail are classified as Type II Facilities in that they are “used for the detention of persons pending arraignment, during trial, and upon a sentence of commitment.” The East County Jail is a Temporary Holding Facility “used for the confinement of persons 24 hours or less pending release, transfer to another facility, or appearance in court.” These three facilities alone were inspected on over 130 criterion related exclusively to Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations (Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities) and many more related to the actual structures (or “physical plants”).

The findings in the comprehensive CSA report were very positive. For example, related to the three facilities above, the Department was in full compliance with all aspects of Title 15, and no negative marks were noted. The same held true for the other Sheriff’s “lock-up areas.” The report stated, “The Department does a good job maintaining their physical plants.” It also indicated an ongoing effort by the Sheriff’s Department to address difficult issues related to staffing and overcrowding. Regarding staffing shortages (which, in part, was related to a nationwide phenomenon forcing police agencies to recruit from dwindling qualified applicant pools), the report states, “Staffing was a significant issue during the 2004-2006 inspection. The Ventura Sheriff partnered with the Board of Supervisors and was able to address the staffing issue that was non-compliant during the last inspection.”

Even pertaining to the difficult overcrowding situation, the report found that the Department maintained proper inmate care and treatment as well as operational efficiency. Due to overcrowding, the Department was forced to place temporary bunks in dayrooms in certain housing units. This caused the PTDF and Todd Road Jail to be out of compliance with one section in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations related to “dayroom space per prisoner.” Nevertheless, the report makes it clear that although the PTDF and Todd Road Jail are “operating under crowded conditions, there was no evidence that programming or services were affected at the time of the inspection.” It should also be noted that the Sheriff’s Department is currently in the process of assessing the potential expansion of the Todd Road facility in order to meet current and future needs of the county’s increasing inmate population.

Magi Work, the field representative who completed the report, was also very complimentary of the Sheriff’s Department staff involved in the inspection. She wrote, “The staff at Ventura Sheriff demonstrated commitment and dedication to addressing issues immediately and it is clear there is strong leadership in the department. Their willingness and cooperation toward operating a safe and secure system is commendable.” When asked about the report, Chief Deputy Geoff Dean, who oversees the Department’s Detention Services Division stated, “We are pleased with the report and are extremely proud of our staff for the work they do to run a constitutional jail under a very overcrowded and challenging situation.”