By Sean Longoria
Record Searchlight
RED BLUFF, Calif. — Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt will ask the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to allow the hiring of four correctional officers and a sergeant at the Tehama County Jail.
The request is a response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s public safety realignment, which took effect Oct. 1.
In a memo to Hencratt, sheriff’s Sgt. David Hohenstein said the jail is rated for 191 inmates but as of Monday was housing 212, including 15 new inmates who would have been in state prison before the realignment took effect.
“Exceeding the rate capacity of the jail develops an overcrowding situation which brings about a greater tension within the facility and the need for increased staffing to deal with the tensions and maintain vigilant security to prevent and intervene in inmate disturbances,” Hohenstein said in the memo. Hiring the additional officers will cost less than $190,000, which includes salary and wages, pension costs, insurance and clothing and supplies, according to a report to the board. The new hires would start at the lowest salary step unless the board requested otherwise.
That money would come from the roughly $1.4 million allocated to the county from the realignment plan, according to the report.
Hohenstein said in his memo to Hencratt that although the additional hires would cost the county, it would address staffing issues at the jail, which could lead to further problems.
“Failure to add the staff request for the implementation of the programs necessary and provide the anticipated additional security needs generated by (realignment) will inevitably result in a decline in prisoner morale (and) the deterioration of prisoners both physically and mentally, which creates a potential for injury to staff or inmates and a consequent decline in the morale of the jail staff,” he said.
The sheriff’s office also is expected to request an additional $7,000 for supplies and startup costs for inmate roadwork crews. That money also would come from the county’s $1.4 million realignment allocation.
Copyright 2011 Record Searchlight
All Rights Reserved