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County moving forward with women’s jail in Lancaster

by City News Service • September 1, 2015

Construction is moving forward to convert the now-vacant Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster into a new 1,604-bed women’s jail.
Construction is moving forward to convert the now-vacant Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster into a new 1,604-bed women’s jail.

LOS ANGELES – County supervisors voted Tuesday — for the second time — to move ahead with construction of a 1,604-bed women’s lockup in Lancaster and a 3,885-bed jail/treatment facility in downtown Los Angeles to replace the rundown Men’s Central Jail.

The board’s Aug. 11 vote on the same matter was determined by many, including District Attorney Jackie Lacey, to be a violation of the Brown Act open meetings law. The original vote was tacked onto another agenda item about diversion, and Lacey and others argued that the public wasn’t given sufficient notice and opportunity to comment.

Despite comments Tuesday by roughly 70 people, the board’s vote came down the same way — a 3-1 split. Supervisor Hilda Solis, who had pushed for a smaller number of beds, abstained and Supervisor Don Knabe cast the dissenting vote.

Community activists have long opposed any new jail construction, arguing that diversion programs could eliminate the need for more jail cells and pushing the county to fund community-based treatment programs for the mentally ill and substance abusers.

“Any honest attempt (at diversion) will render any jails plan that is on the table obsolete,” Mary Sutton of LA No More Jails told the board.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas agreed that “diversion is the right thing to do and puts taxpayers’ resources to much better use than incarceration.”

But Ridley-Thomas and each of his board colleagues have acknowledged that diversion, no matter how successful, will not eliminate the need for jails. Supervisor Michael Antonovich called the two elements “not competing, but complementary.”

Civil rights and community advocates pushed the board to reverse its decision to create a women’s jail on the site of the former Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster. They argued that locating women far away from their network of family and friends would only hurt communities and increase the likelihood that those women would commit more crimes.

“I want to say no to Mira Loma,” said Lynne Lyman, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance in California. “The research is in, and it shows that what works for women is access to families and services.”

Solis and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl proposed establishing an advisory board to review the program model for the Mira Loma women’s jail and look at strategies to mitigate the impact of building a jail so far away from downtown Los Angeles, including transportation for visitors and videoconferencing. That recommendation was approved, and the board also reiterated its vote creating an Office of Diversion.

However, another proposal by Solis to focus on releasing inmates awaiting trial on low-level offenses and convene a Proposition 47 task force to help offenders reclassify their low-level felony offenses to misdemeanors was sent back to the drawing board.

–

Filed Under: Lancaster

19 comments for "County moving forward with women’s jail in Lancaster"

  1. Eric says

    November 1, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    The AV continues to move in the wrong direction. Makes me glad I left a few months back. Funny, when I moved to the AV originally in 2003, for years I really missed my home in the San Fernando Valley (lived in the SFV 15 years). Now that I moved out of the AV, I don’t miss it one bit.

  2. Tony says

    September 2, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    More criminals moving to the AV

    • Raging Grandma says

      September 5, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      How about they compete for fund’s! Stupidest decision yet! We know throwing men and women in prison doesn’t help, especially low level criminals and alcoholics and drug addicts. Our Tax dollars would be better spent on Rehabilitation centers and family services. Why do our politicians continue with their insanity????

  3. Question Lancaster Authority says

    September 2, 2015 at 11:22 am

    Under Parris’s watch Lancaster has become the tattoo and prison capitol of the world………

    • Tim says

      September 5, 2015 at 10:24 am

      It’s a County deal. Not a City deal. Parris has nothing to do with it. It’s like blaming Parris for all the solar panels way out on the far Westside of the AV. You just show deep down what you really are!

      • Tim Scott says

        September 5, 2015 at 10:38 am

        The point that during the term of Imperious Rex “bringing jobs to Lancaster” has been pretty much synonymous with “open another prison” seems pretty valid. You may notice that Lancaster didn’t pony up to make any protest to the board of supervisors about getting yet another prison dumped on their city.

        • DThomas says

          September 5, 2015 at 11:40 am

          Rex surely did not heed my words. He went gently into the good night in fighting this one.

      • Steve says

        November 2, 2015 at 11:13 am

        Tim, are you saying the Lancaster council DID NOT recently re-zone the westside for solar? Changing the zoning from small 2.5 acre residential plots to allow for the spread of solar panels? Are you asking us to not hold Lancaster responsible for that? What are we allowed to hold the city responsible for?

        • Tim Scott says

          November 2, 2015 at 12:41 pm

          I make no claim to paying attention to what Rex and the rubber stamps get themselves into. I don’t live in Lancaster. If the residents don’t show any interest in keeping mayor leech out of their pockets why should I?

          • Steve says

            November 3, 2015 at 10:03 am

            Good, because that was directed at the other Tim.

          • Tim Scott says

            November 3, 2015 at 10:42 am

            My bad.

  4. valleygirl says

    September 2, 2015 at 10:04 am

    By all means, make sure they are early released into Solis’ jurisdiction.

  5. John says

    September 2, 2015 at 9:47 am

    The AV, dumping ground for the state of CA.

  6. Name says

    September 2, 2015 at 8:46 am

    Favor oppression. Keep the people down. Wait, what?

    Isn’t mayor Parris a self confessed, former drug addict? If so, then either money kicked in and money kept him from the general population, or he truly embarked on the only successful endeavor ever accomplished in his life (to this day). Somehow some people get a haircut and get a real job. I don’t like the mayor one bit, but he is one of many examples of recovering drug addicts, that i have had the displeasure of coming across. His story is one repeated the world over. Besides that, one can only assume a politician would only let such information loose if it could be dug up at any point, against their campaign. If he wasn’t lying, along with the other recovering humans, then i feel your notion that the system favors oppression is illogical at best. I believe repeat offenders return because they want to, look at Ike Turner! The system has failed, but somehow these repeat offenders that end up getting shipped out to mira loma all have enough government assistance to continue their crimes and BECOME REPEAT OFFENDERS! Vicious cycle, but perpetuated by those who couldn’t care less.

  7. Ryan Hunt says

    September 2, 2015 at 6:25 am

    The folks running the jails make good money from the government for each person they have to run up and down from the high desert down to court houses and processing at the lockup in LA. They constantly have to rotate prisoners from Pitches Detention Center to Downtown for them to appear in court houses in San Fernando Valley and the greater LA area. Big money. So the further away they can cart these souls or soul less, the better. There is no fun in treating the ones that need it most when it is so much more fun to put them in a position of greater oppression. We don’t want good solid men and women that have the ability to resist our programming. We want these types not to recover so that they become strong again to threaten our “set up.” We need the drug addictions in these men and women for the type of programming needed for their own self destruction. That gets rid of the threat they pose. Not to mention we need bodies that can host our demonic brothers and sisters that cause them to commit greater crimes to validate the need for a greater police presence. It’s for your security.

  8. ed says

    September 2, 2015 at 4:09 am

    Really? must be nice…. go ahead and spend money in BS what’s new…

    • valleygirl says

      September 2, 2015 at 10:03 am

      Great…that’s all we need are more early release convicted felons infiltrating the AV. This place is a mess.

  9. BS says

    September 1, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    Let’s draw more idiots to the AV! Like we don’t have enough garbage!!!

  10. James Stouvenel says

    September 1, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    I don’t feel sorry for a lady if they go out and steal a purse and end up at Mira Loma. Its overdue for this type of jail

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