Megan Cassidy
San Francisco Chronicle
OAKLAND, Calif. — Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern is officially closing the Glenn E. Dyer Jail in downtown Oakland, Ahern told The Chronicle on Friday.
Officials may start transferring prisoners as early as next week, and the process would take place in stages over the next several weeks. The announcement comes just days after sheriff’s officials confirmed they were considering the move as a cost-cutting measure amid declining inmate populations and rising incarceration costs.
The jail is equipped to hold more than 800 people, but its current headcount hovers around 400, officials said.
Glenn Dyer inmates will be moved to Alameda County’s other facility, Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. The facility is built to hold well over 3,000 people, but its population as of late barely tops 2,100, officials said.
Until recently, Santa Rita Jail didn’t have the bed space to house the maximum-level and high-security inmates it would need to absorb Glenn Dyer’s population, Ahern said.
The move will save at least $6 million, he said, mostly in staff overtime costs and combining kitchen and medical units. The restructuring could potentially save millions more, Ahern said, adding that no layoffs will occur.
“This is a very positive development for the safety of our staff and our inmates, and, financially, it’s a cost savings,” he said.
Ahern said the consolidation will be a boon for inmate rehabilitation efforts as well.
“They’ll be able to attend more programming and classes provided by inmate services,” he said. “We also will be able to have them available to work in re-entry (programs) in a higher number.”
The transfer has disadvantages as well, though, mostly stemming from Santa Rita’s location.
While the Glenn Dyer facility is just steps away from the Oakland Police Department’s downtown headquarters, the drive to Santa Rita from Oakland is a minimum of 30 minutes. Officers will have to spend more time transporting detainees, which takes away from their time on the streets.
The Oakland location is also convenient for many family and attorney-client visits, while Santa Rita is nearly 2 miles from the closest BART station.
Ahern said the decision to shutter Glenn Dyer was partly due to a recent federal court order that limits when jail officials can interrupt inmates’ sleep and extends lights-out hours. The order stemmed from a federal class-action lawsuit by prisoners who alleged extreme sleep deprivation.
Because the order delays breakfast by an hour on court days, jail officials now have two hours to do the work they typically did in three, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ray Kelly. The extra staffing in one location will ensure the Sheriff’s Office complies with the court’s order and can get medication, food and court transportation out on time.
Ahern said he couldn’t yet comment on what the county will do with the shuttered jail. The facility, located at 550 Sixth St., is 234,000 square feet, and there are 20 levels in the high-rise portion.
Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan said she was unaware of Ahern’s decision to close the facility until informed by The Chronicle on Friday afternoon.
“I would have preferred if he had discussed it with us, but if he’s gone ahead and done that, then it’s a done deal,” she said, adding that she had no idea how empty the jail was.
Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said he was “shocked” by the development, after jail officials said days ago they would conduct a feasibility study with parties who do business at the jail before making a decision. Woods said he wished jail officials would have conducted this study and gathered input from the community.
“I have not heard anything about it except from the press,” he said.
Woods said the transfer will add an extra trip for prisoner families and public defenders whose clients would have otherwise been down the street.
“I think I would have preferred that it gone in reverse,” he said. “That they would have housed more in the north county (Glenn Dyer) jail as opposed to Santa Rita.”
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