Bus service to town recommended
San Benito County Express should provide bus service to the
jail, according to the San Benito County Grand Jury 2007-2008
annual jail report.
”
Residents and business owners have complained to the jail about
released inmates who are loitering on their properties,
”
according to the report.
Bus service to town recommended
San Benito County Express should provide bus service to the jail, according to the San Benito County Grand Jury 2007-2008 annual jail report.
“Residents and business owners have complained to the jail about released inmates who are loitering on their properties,” according to the report.
Inmates must find their own means of transportation from the jail, according to the report. The closest bus stop is nearly 1 mile away, at 1111 San Felipe St.
Inmates can call Dial-A-Ride for service from the jail, said Betty Li, transportation planner for the Council of San Benito County Governments.
A new fixed route will include a stop on Flynn Road, near the jail, Li said.
“That was brought about when there were issues of visitors to the jail walking along that road,” Li said. “We wanted to include a safe way for them to get there as well.”
Service is to begin later this year, Li said.
Overall, sheriff’s department staff runs a safe and well-maintained jail, according to the report.
“I would eat off that floor,” said Roxy Montana, foreman of the grand jury.
The report recommends that county staff install signs that clearly identify the jail’s location from Hwy. 25, San Felipe Road and Flynn Road.
“This is my fourth term,” Montana said, “and I actually expected that the signage issue would have been taken care of years ago.”
She first noted the problem in 2002 or 2003.
“First-time visitors may have difficulty finding the jail, regardless of whether they are new to the area or long-time residents,” according to the report.
The jail can hold a maximum of 142 inmates. When the jail approaches capacity, administrators use several strategies to free bed space.
Administrators request that minimum-risk inmates be assigned to work furloughs, be released at night on their own recognizance or be released a few weeks early.
“Approximately 17 to 20 percent of the inmates have severe mental health problems treated with medications,” according to the report.
Each shift has at least one officer who is bilingual in Spanish, according to the report.
About 65 percent of the inmates are bilingual in English and Spanish. About 10 percent speak only Spanish.
Occasionally an inmate speaks a language with which staff is unfamiliar. Staff use an inmate who speaks the language as an interpreter, if one is available.
The report recommends that staff offer inmates a variety of reading material for recreation, as well as to help them improve their English and literacy skills.
In one of the two female pods, books available for recreational reading were primarily religious in nature. Grand jury members did not know whether books were available to male inmates.
The observation room, where suicidal inmates are housed, should be under video surveillance, according to the report.
It also recommends that the heating and cooling system in the west end of the building, as it gets very hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
