May 12, 1997

The Honorable William L. Gordon

Superior Court Presiding Judge

1100 Anacapa Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Re: Detention Facilities Report; Lompoc Court Holding

Dear Judge Gordon:

The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury issued its Detention Facilities report on March 12, 1997. At pages 5-6, the Grand Jury made the following finding and recommendation relative to the North Santa Barbara County Municipal Court:

Finding 3: There is a security risk involved in the procedures used to transfer inmates from the Lompoc Jail to court appearances in the Lompoc court building. The Grand Jury concurs with the Farbstein report finding that there is a need for court holding facilities in Lompoc (p.16-17). This need will only become greater and the security risk of more concern with the increased use of the Lompoc court following the January 1997 consolidation. Additionally, the lack of private space for attorney client consultation makes confidentiality difficult.

Recommendation 3: The Sheriff and the North County Court Administrator should establish a secure holding facility and attorney conference space in Lompoc.

Department Response:

The North County Municipal Court agrees with the Grand Jury's finding. At present, the Sheriff's Office buses inmates 60 miles one-way from the main Santa Barbara jail facility to Lompoc for court appearances. Under a special contractual arrangement with the City of Lompoc, the inmates are held at the Lompoc Police Department jail facility located in the same complex, until their court appearance. The annual cost of the contract is $46,000.

Approximately four times each day, inmates are escorted through the parking lot area located behind the Police Department and Court building into the courtroom for appearances before the hearing judge. The parking lot area is open to the public. Further, there is no partition in the courtroom to separate inmates from the public. This situation creates a high security risk to the public, inmates, and court and security personnel. 1

An alternative to the current method is to construct a holding facility directly connected to the courtroom building and staff it with Sheriff's personnel.

The requirements for a new holding facility include, but are not limited, to the following factors: 1) It must be carefully integrated into the court facility for proper prisoner movement; 2) It must include the capacity to separate male and female defendants; 3) It must provide the proper capacity for the number of daily in-custody defendants. (The highest daily count in April was 32 prisoners); and 4) There must be appropriate space for attorneys to consult with their in-custody clients.

Department Recommendation:

The recommendation will be analyzed further. The North County Municipal Court is not presently aware of any funding source to finance the construction of such a holding facility. However, the Presiding Judge and Court Executive Officer intend to meet with the Sheriff to discuss any options that might be pursued.

The Court wishes to express its support for the Grand Jury's recommendation and its hope that the County will be able to identify a funding source for construction of the Lompoc holding facility.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary M. Blair

Trial Courts Executive Officer

cc: County Administrator's Office

Eugene Huseman, Presiding Judge, North County Municipal Court

Sheriff Jim Thomas

Tim Staffel, Fourth District Supervisor

Dorene DeuPree, Judicial Services Manager

It should be noted that the contract with the Lompoc Police Department for use of its holding facility is a significant improvement over the former situation. Prior to the contractual arrangement, the Sheriff's Office parked its bus in the rear parking lot and used it as the holding facility. A portable bathroom located in the parking lot near the bus was utilized by the inmates.