One goal of the DSA is to maintain and/or improve proper working conditions within the correctional facilities under the control of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.  Even our previous achievements have become more difficult to maintain due to severe and dangerous budget cuts. Without proper funding by the Board of Supervisors the county’s jail system is left with less than adequate options for staff to deal with the ever increasing amount violent predatory offenders.

Primarily because of unfilled vacancies our facilities have in excess of 40 fewer Custody Deputies than just a few years ago. The Sheriff’s Department has to spend vast amounts of overtime money just to maintain minimum staffing at our main jail, medium security facility, transportation bureau and for the limited hours at the Santa Maria facility. Due to the amount of vacancies it has become necessary to supplement staffing with Deputy Sheriffs from the departments law enforcement division.

The unprecedented number and severity of assaults on staff in the last year underscores the type of inmates housed in our facilities today. Recent headlines demonstrate the rise in violence our personnel face on a daily basis due to many factors, which include the trickledown effect of state prison politics and the inmate’s mental health issues.

Safety and security are the cornerstones of any correctional facility and can only be achieved by the individuals working within the walls. Without a sufficient number of properly trained staff many issues, including fatigue, takes its toll in any 24/7 operation. The added stress of the profession increases the difficulty in keeping dedicated people on the job.

 An upcoming staffing study will provide some added direction in creating a safer environment for staff and inmates alike. The study may provide some answers, but not the funding to make changes if more staffing is required. The Board of Supervisors holds the purse strings to fund safer and more secure custody facilities in Santa Barbara County.

An inmate at the Santa Barbara County Main jail died while behind bars. 

Deputies say at 3:35 pm Saturday found 29-year-old Juan Rodriguez-Zepeda unconscious in his cell. Deputies performed CPR to no avail and Rodriguez-Zepeda was pronounced dead at the scene. 

According to a press release, Zepeda was alone in a single-person cell when he was found. Deputies do not believe he is the victim of foul play. (MORE)

After the Santa Barbara County Jail saw six fights in 10 days, yet another melee broke out Tuesday morning in a bus on its way to deliver inmates in Santa Maria for court appearances.

That altercation involved four individuals who were removed from the transport and taken back to jail. The bus, which was carrying 40 inmates total, pulled into the northbound Gaviota rest stop to await assistance, and Sheriff’s deputies along with CHP officers responded to help. (MORE)

A partial lock down has now been lifted at the main Santa Barbara County Jail. 

It had been in place since last Wednesday, but was not the first lock down over the past few weeks.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, there have been six altercations between inmates over the past two weeks. The first lock down was put in place after a fight on July 4. The following Monday there were a total of three fights in one day, including an altercation in the holding area at the Santa Maria Courthouse. (MORE)

Santa Barbara County Jail remains in lockdown after a fight broke out between inmates — the sixth brawl in 10 days — when officers tried to lift the restrictions they imposed on Monday, July 11.

The lockdown — meaning inmates are confined to their cells and lose privileges including visitations — was put into effect earlier this week when a fight in the jail’s exercise yard left three inmates with moderate to serious injuries. Two were transported to the hospital. (MORE)

A local jail is still in lock down after a fight broke out Monday afternoon. 

It happened around 3:45 p.m. at the main jail in Goleta. 

According to sheriff's officials, more than 12 inmates of a prison gang planned the racially motivated attack. The fight lasted less than a minute in the module area but caused at least three inmates to be sent to Cottage Goleta Valley Hospital from facial or head injuries. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. (MORE)