By Natasha Pawar, Stacie Guevara, Christopher Datu
LOS ANGELES, CA – Justice LA Coalition (JLA) announced its support for calls to close down the Men’s County Jail (MCJ), charging it is committed to providing all the assistance necessary.
The organization has dedicated members of the coalition as well as community volunteers to the cause and have together, with the help of various partnerships, created resources to move towards this closure.
In preparation for this goal being met, the Men’s Central Jail Closure Report, put together by JLA, outlines pathways and an 18-24-month timeline aimed at simultaneously reducing the jail population while bolstering the community based-services.
The plan is not without the typical bureaucratic hurdles and delays, though all of them can be avoided under the Board’s authority to demand the CEO shut down MCJ immediately.
Many members of the community have shared their thoughts surrounding this issue and in support of the closure. Director of Campaigns and Policy for Dignity and Power NOW Lex Steppling indicates their frustration of the county, “putting process over outcome” time and time again.
They also mention other jurisdictions have successfully closed down less efficient jails with minimal public support and few resources, making the situation at MCJ all the more frustrating. They feel that MCJ should have been “closed and demolished years ago.”
The public support that Steppling mentioned comes from local community members who have demanded on multiple occasions that the county follow through on their Care First program.
One issue brought up by the coalition is that of the motion that is approved in regards to the future of MCJ at this point in time.
Since the beginning, the Jail Closure Implementation Team has pushed for action on this matter, and with the current motion in place, they are being left out, despite the promise of transparency and community involvement.
Ultimately, they believe the decision to close or keep MCJ open cannot heavily rely on only one factor – for example, the Sheriff’s department’s priorities or even those primarily relating to courts and judges.
Other factors and people involved must be taken into account, as well as the needs and demands of the public, said JLA, urging the county to remain thorough in their funding plan for the closure as well as for their Measure J Year 1 Spending Recommendations.
Eunisses Hernandez, executive director of Coalition partner La Defensa, also reminded the community of the injustices deep within the current jail system.
Hernandez spoke of the County’s funding efforts and emphasized that priority should be given to the interventions that make arrests of Black and Brown people more just, noting, “Black and Brown people make up most of the people in the LA County jail system because of the intentional criminalization of these communities.”
The Justice LA Coalition admitted it is disheartened with the current decision to put together yet another plan to go about the closing of MCJ. Based on the motion of June 23, they feel there seems to be little progress made and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
The Coalition urged the Board to create an orderly timeline that is effective in getting the job done without even more money and time being spent, dragging this process out longer than necessary.
Natasha Pawar is a senior at UC Davis pursuing a degree in Psychology & Communications with a minor in Economics. She is passionate about criminal justice reform and helping create more transparency in the legal system. Upon graduating, she plans on attending law school.
Stacie Guevara (she/her) is a fourth-year at UC Davis majoring in Communication and minoring in Professional Writing. She is from the San Francisco Bay Area and is interested in going into journalism.
Christopher Datu is a 4th year Politcial Science major at UC Davis. He is originally from Corona, California.
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