Santa Ana : Branch Jail Opening Delayed by County

The county’s new branch jail, originally scheduled to open in May, will not begin operations for another two months, Orange County officials said Tuesday.

R.A. Scott, head of the county’s General Services Agency, said that the “logistics and finishing up” of the Intake and Release Center adjacent to the main jail in downtown Santa Ana were taking longer than scheduled.

Scott said that construction is expected to be completed at the end of August and that the Sheriff’s Department will take “maybe four weeks after completion to thoroughly shake down the operation” before accepting inmates.

“Even though we are four months behind what we were shooting for, we are still 12 months ahead of the normal for this type of project and two years quicker than comparable projects in the state,” Scott said. “A jail is not a simple project.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton said in March that it would be “nothing short of ludicrous” to have to wait until September for the center to open.

“I still feel the same,” Stanton said Tuesday. “But the fact is that reality is reality and (the opening) is (now) two months away. Back in March, it was six months away. Time dampens what may seem ludicrous.”

The 384-bed center will have another 96 beds for inmates with medical problems and will relieve some overcrowding in the main men’s jail system, officials said.

In March of 1985, Sheriff Brad Gates and the five county supervisors were found in contempt by a federal judge for not heeding an eight-year-old court order to end overcrowding in the main jail.