LA County Sheriff Proposes $1.4 Billion Jail Plan

The Chief Executive along with Sheriff Lee Baca pitched a plan to demolish and rebuild the LA County Men’s Central Jail (commonly known as the Twin Towers Jail) and build a new women’s detention facility at Pitchness Detention Center. The estimated cost for this plan is $1.4 billion.

According to William Fujioka, the top executive for LA County, the new plan will “allow the Sheriff’s Department to better manage the fluctuating and volatile inmate populations in the county’s jail facilities and address jail conditions cited by the US District Court.”

Los Angeles County houses the highest inmate population in the country and now has to comply with the ruling set by the Supreme Court to improve conditions of the jails and reduce the number of inmates.

The proposed plans will Read more »

LAPD’s Foothill Division Headquarters Celebrates Golden Anniversary

Approximately 100 people came out to celebrate the 50th annicersaty of the LAPD’s Foothill Division on Saturday, partaking in food, drink and to reminisce in nostalgic memories of years past.

The station, which includes an onsite jail, services the communities of La Tuna Canyon, Lake View Terrace,  Pacoima, Shadow Hills, Sun Valley, Sunland and Tujunga, was a lot different in its early years, retirees said, noting that drugs, guns and concern about heavily armed suspects were non-existent.

“People in those days submitted to arrest,” Retired Sgt. Phillip Siegal told the Contra Costa Times (CCT). “You say, ‘You’re under arrest’, put handcuffs on them, they went.  They didn’t challenge you to fight, they didn’t try to pull a gun or knife on you.”

Retired Officer Jerry Jorgensen also spoke with the CCT, noting “There was no drugs on the street in our days.  Now, you might stop someone with a truck full of cocaine.”

First opened on Sept. 1, 1961, the station recently Read more »

California Inmates Transferred to County Jails

The LAPD and the LA Sheriff’s Department are suddenly finding themselves a bit more stretched. Mandated under the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, each of California’s 58 counties, including Los Angeles, will need to take responsibility of certain current and future state prisoners within their jurisdiction.  The Act, also known as AB109, went into effect on Oct. 1.

Under the direction of the Act, non-serious, non-violent and non-sex offenders (known as “non-non-non”) will now serve out their sentences in county jails instead of in state prisons.

Los Angeles Impact

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck, and other city officials point to increased expenses to the city, including the need to hire additional officers.  Additional gang intervention and prevention personnel will also need to be trained, points out Los Angeles gang expert Connie Rice.

Response times for 911 services may also increase, Beck said.

For the average citizen, the question may be “why?”.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) suggests that approximately 7,000 inmates currently sentenced to serve time in state prisons will now be housed within the Los Angels County Jail System.

According to an Aug. 2011 report prepared by the County of Los Angeles Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), the CRCR also projects that “approximately 9,000 offenders will Read more »

California County Jails Get Ready for Realignment

With the new realignment that started October 1st, California county jails are preparing for the influx of parolees and nonviolent felons. The US Supreme Court decided that the state had to decrease the prison population by 30,000 inmates in order to reduce the severe overcrowding.

With this new law in place, non-violent offenders and criminals who do not commit sexual crimes, will be housed in county detention facilities instead of state prisons. Upon release, these offenders will be supervised by county probation officers instead of state parole officers.

LA County supervisors are skeptical about the realignment plan, believing it will increase crime and lawsuits in the county. It is also feared that judges will begin handing down shorter sentences in order to avoid severe overcrowding in county jails.

The number of parolees and prisoners will not jump up immediately but increase steadily. It is estimated that by the end of October the county will have nearly 600 new inmates and 120 new parolees.

At the end of four years, it is expected that Los Angeles County Jail will see an additional 8,300 inmates each year. There will be an increased need for Read more »

What Is The Release Time After Bail Has Been Paid?

Today’s question comes from Yahoo! Answers, where we often answer to many bail related topics.

Question:  Yesterday morning my boyfriend went to jail.  I paid for his bail downtown at 2:30.  I called the jail at 8:30 and they said he wasn’t gonna be released. What’s going on?

Answer:  You don’t mention which jail it is, but many jails have a release process that takes Read more »

LAPD Metropolitan Detention Center Jail

General Information

Metropolitan Detention Center
180 North Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Main: 213-356-3446
Bail Bonds for the Metropolitan Detention Center

Newly opened in early 2011, the LAPD Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) has replaced the now closed Parker Center Jail in downtown Los Angeles. Located right off of Highway 101, across from Union Station, the new 512-bed Metro Center Jail in Los Angeles is approximately 179,000 square feet. It is a Type I detention facility which can hold people for no more than 96 hours. 

The new Metro Center Jail is co-located with the Police Administration Building and has a ‘campus setting design’ plan. MDC is the Los Angeles Police Department’s largest jail.

Visiting Regulations for the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Jail: 

Visiting Hours at MDC are 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Arrestees may have one Read more »

Deal to Get LAPD Officers on Patrol Okayed by Villaraigosa

On Wednesday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, signed off on a deal that would borrow money, originally from a fund for improving neighborhoods in Sunshine Canyon Landfill,  that would enable 27 officers to be placed back on patrol rather than acting as staff at the newly opened Metropolitan Detention Center, the LAPD’s brand new jail.

According to the Daily News, City Councilman, Greig Smith, devised the plan that would transfer $639,706 to the LAPD from the Sunshine Canyon Landfill community fund. It is said that the money will be used to keep civilian jailers on the job so that sworn officers can stay on the streets. The loan is interest-free and is supposed to be paid back in-full within two years.

Villaraigosa was extremely happy with Smith’s plan, and praised it along with detention officers and police at his side. Villaraigosa also revealed that the plan is an extreme help, but only a temporary fix. He suspects it will only last until June 30, 2011.

Villaraigosa said, “After July 1, Read more »

New LAPD MDC Jail Open!

Parker Center Jail to Close

It’s been a long time coming, but the newly opened Los Angeles Police Department Metropolitan Detention Center has started receiving inmates in its cells.

The closing Parker Center jail is over 55 years old and has been cited for health and safety violations having to do with plumbing issues, sprinkler problems, mold, etc. It has the capacity to take in as many as 110 arrestees, but has been known to take in as many as 440 arrestees at once.

LAPD Assistant Police Chief, Michel Moore spoke with city officials Monday, saying that 83 jailers, 88 sworn officers and 5 supervisors were trained to provide 331 civilian officers much needed staff to support the large new Metro facility.

Moore stated, “Parker Center jail will close and we will transition to the new Metropolitan Detention Facility that was completed 18 months ago… We are doing this out of concern for the health and safety of the people in custody and the people who work there.”

The new facility is only 1/2 block away from the Parker Center Jail. It is reported that when transferred, inmates  Read more »

LAPD Officers Approved For Metro Center Jailers

A city panel has approved a new plan which would require LAPD officers to be placed in jails as staff for up to six-month periods. In the hopes to get the Los Angeles Police Department Metro Detention Jail Center fully humming by January of 2011, the panel signed off on the new plan. The full City Council will vote on the plan Wednesday.

Some oppose pulling officers off the streets, but a hiring freeze has created what is their only option. City Councilman Greig Smith stated that “other options are even worse.” He chairs the Public Safety Committee and is an LAPD reserve officer.

Staffing shortages also created a problem moving officers from the dilapidated Parker Center to the brand new Metro Center jail in downtown Los Angeles. In fact, the project was completed over 18 months ago, but has still yet to be opened.

In order to staff the new facility, Read more »

New LAPD Metro Center Jail to Open February 2011

After much debate, a plan devised by the LAPD will allow the $74-million Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) jail to open in February 2011.

The 172,000 square foot structure has been unattended and unused since May of 2009. The new structure hasn’t opened, due to staffing shortages and a hiring freeze, but is now being planned to open in February in order to close the old dilapidated jail.

The plan will require Read more »