I might come off a little grumpy this week. I’m sorry about that, but I’ve got an excuse—my back hurts! You could call it an occupational hazard of sitting at a desk all day.
I bet some Santa Maria Police Department officers are going to be dealing with some lower back pain come mid-July. They’ll be driving hours back and forth between Santa Maria and Goleta to deliver delinquents to the only county facility available after Sheriff Bill Brown closes the Santa Maria branch jail.
They won’t be the only law enforcement agency making the drive—the Guadalupe Police Department and the North County California Highway Patrol use the Santa Maria branch jail as well.
So, why is Sheriff Brown shutting down the Sheriff’s Office’s only facility in North County? The budget, of course!
The sheriff asked the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for a “one-time allocation” of a little more than $900,000, which the Sheriff’s Office received the past two years to help fully staff the Santa Maria branch jail. When he didn’t get it, he decided to shut the facility down! Does somebody need to explain to Billy Boy what “one-time” means?
This isn’t the first time he’s done this, either. The jail was shut down in 2011 too, taking SMPD officers off the street to shuttle suspects to and fro. Must have been awkward rides, you know. I wonder if they played the license plate game.
The supes’ hands are tied with the budget, unfortunately. Remember, the county is in the hole $35 million because of some pension investment voodoo, and that cash has to be made up somewhere. But it sure seems like Sheriff Brown is playing chicken with the board, trying to get what he wants while passing on costs to North County law enforcement agencies.
Why is North County always the first to suffer? Santa Maria is only the most populous city in the county, but yeah, it totally makes sense for the city’s police department to drive all the way across the county while awaiting the opening of the new jail. But if the sheriff doesn’t get exactly what he wants, what’s stopping him from shutting down that brand-spanking-new jail once it opens?
And what’s the alternative? Where will these suspects or inmates end up? The main jail in Santa Barbara is a crumbling, overcrowded facility that is unsafe for guards and those incarcerated there. There have been attacks on staff, injuries, and inmates have died after health emergencies. The human cost is very real, but so is the cost of the ongoing litigation after a wrongful death suit is filed.
All of this could prove costly to not just the Sheriff’s Office and the county, but Sheriff Brown as well—I’m talking votes here, people. Don’t forget, everything has a cost. And closing the Santa Maria branch jail means inmates will need busing to the Santa Maria Courthouse, and gas ain’t cheap.
Keep your eye out next time you’re driving Highway 101, for SMPD or Sheriff’s Office vehicles. They might be passing each other in the mist, waving wistfully, trying to ignore the lower back pain from all the long drives across the county.
The Canary is doing office yoga, trying to avoid a trip to the Santa Maria Branch Jail. Send your thoughts to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 6, 2017.
