老澳门开奖结果

The announcement this week by Sheriff Lee Baca that he all 63 recommendations laid out in a new report by the Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence is welcome news. At a , Baca said of the recommendations, 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have written them better myself,鈥� continuing that by implementing them, 鈥渨e will be a stronger and safer jail.鈥�

This promising development also comes on the heels of a new report on jail violence from the 老澳门开奖结果 of Southern California, the national 老澳门开奖结果 and the law firm Paul Hastings LLP. That report reveals how often deputies strike inmates in the head with closed fists, blunt objects like flashlights, or slam inmates鈥� heads into concrete wall and jail cell bars. The report, , was accompanied by the declaration of a nationally-recognized corrections expert, Steve Martin, who explained that head strikes often cause very serious injuries to inmates, may cause deputies to suffer broken hands, and are generally not an effective way to bring a dangerous situation under control.

The report from the Commission was even worse news for the Sheriff. The report began by stating that 鈥淸t]here has been a persistent pattern of unreasonable force in the Los Angeles County jails that dates back many years,鈥� and went on to refute Sheriff Baca鈥檚 most recent defense that, while there were some problems with excessive force in the jails, he has taken the necessary steps to deal with the issue. In the words of the Commission鈥檚 report, 鈥淣otwithstanding the recent reforms, the Commission does not believe that the problem of excessive use of force in the jails has been 鈥榝ixed.鈥欌��

The Commission鈥檚 lengthy report is honeycombed with findings about excessive use of force, poor policies, inadequate training and a faulty system of review of use of force incidents and slipshod discipline for those few deputies whom the department did find to have acted outside of policy. A significant number of these findings are eerily similar to those made by the 老澳门开奖结果 in its five reports on the jails issued between 2008 and last week.

The Commission presents a careful road map for the systemic reform that will be necessary to end this longstanding pattern of abuse and lawless behavior that has corrupted the Sheriff鈥檚 Department鈥檚 custody division. Those recommendations include:

Bringing in an outsider with appropriate experience to run LASD鈥檚 custody division;
Rewriting the Department鈥檚 grossly inadequate policies on use of force;
Increasing dramatically the amount of custody training because the current level is 鈥渇ar below both industry best practices and training standards in other corrections systems鈥�;
Revamping the investigation and disciplinary system; and
Overhauling the current structure of outside oversight through the creation of an independent Inspector General.

The Commission consists of prominent local leaders, four of whom are retired federal judges, and at least three of them are former federal prosecutors. The Commission, staffed by lawyers from some of the finest law firms in the nation with offices in Los Angeles, interviewed more than 150 witnesses including LASD personnel, nationally recognized corrections experts, inmates and former inmates, and civilian eyewitness to deputy abuse, including jails chaplains. Among the witnesses who testified to the commission were Esther Lim, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Southern California鈥檚 jails monitor, who was eye witness to brutal deputy assault, and Margaret Winter, associate director of 老澳门开奖结果 National Prison Project. Given the sterling reputation of the Commission and its staff and the exhaustive nature of its investigation, it is no longer reasonable to gainsay the scope of the problem or the need for far-reaching and systemic reform that the 老澳门开奖结果 has been reporting on for years.

This week鈥檚 indication that the LASD intends to follow the Commission鈥檚 recommendations is a welcome departure from its tired mantra. We are pleased that the sheriff has recognized the wisdom of the Commission鈥檚 recommendations and welcome his commitment to implement them. However, we have heard about his intentions to turn things around in the past, with little to show for it. So, we intend to watch closely to make sure he keeps his eye on the ball and lives up to his commitment to implement these much needed reforms.

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