Town business: “Sho is funky” part 1

Town Buisness: "Show is Funky" part 1: By: Chernikko L. Crump (Town Buisness) Drawing by: Jackie D. Walker Spit Fire to Inspire Greetings, A.P.W.A. Contributors and audiences abroad. Once again it is an honor and a privilege to be able to share with you my thoughts as well as first hand experiences on major issues and areas of concern we face in the American Criminal Justice System. According to a recent report from the Bay Area News Group Inmates Stage hunger strike, work stoppage due to bad conditions at the Santa Rita Alameda County Detention Facility located in Dublin, CA. Sources say that the strike was prompted by an incident that occurred on October 18th, 2019 when inmates housed at the 31 East section of the Santa Rita Detention Facility allegedly reported not receiving any food until 5pm that day. Report also has it that the strike began because of the Jail Administration's refusal to comply with the constant complaints of how the facility handles inmates who are dealing with opioid and or other drug withdrawals. Recently, an inmate reportedly died from an apparent overdose of an opioid drug according to the Sheriff's office. This was at least the eighth jail-related death in the past year. Alameda County Sheriff spokesman stated that they were unaware of exactly how many inmates were actively participating in the hunger strike and made the assumption based off of previous years of experience in law enforcement that the vast majority of inmates who conduct a hunger strike don't usually conduct a commissary strike as well. This meant that these persons who participate in this strike may or may not be eating jail food but are assumed by this spokesperson (based off of this previous experience) that these persons still buy things from the commissary which contains a variety of food such as oatmeal, lasagna, ramen, chips, etc. Reports also state that conditions at the facility are unsanitary, i.e., large swarms of gnats in some places, vermin droppings that were allegedly found in the inmates' food and inadequate access to cleaning supplies. inmates whom custody levels range from minimal-medium dormitory style cells can consist of up to roughly 30 inmates, with that number of persons continuously fluctuating due to intakes, releases and transfers. Inmates whom custody levels range from medium-maximum are usually housed in 2 man cell settings which a minimal requirement of 3 hours a week for pod the are allowed. This may or may not fluctuate as well depending on staffing shortages and so forth. Persons who are placed in AD-Seg (segregation unit) are allowed one hour of pod time per day. Conditions here at the facility vexed[[?]] recently stemming from a recent rash of basewide lockdowns due to staffing shortages. These staffing shortages being the cause and effect of PG & E Pacific, Gas, and Electric equipment failures that has caused tremendous amounts of damage throughout the entire state of California The most recent of these California wildfires, the Kincade fire ripped its way through a vast portion of Sonoma County located in Northern California. This fire which is said to be fully contained burned roughly 77, 758 acres of land and destroyed 374 structures to include some 174 residents. This also resulted in the evacuation of some 180,000 residents. These residents were finally allowed to return home according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). These fires caused blackouts and also disrupted the Institutional Operations of Prisons and Jails throughout Northern California. First and foremost, I would like to send my condolences to the friends and families of anyone who is currently or has ever suffered as a result of these disasters. Our hearts and prayers go out to these people and I want to encourage anyone who is in a position to be able to assist these families to do so in any way possible. Every little bit counts. I would like to thank all the people around the world who dedicate their lives to protect and serve the community. You make it possible for us to enjoy the life and liberties that every human being regardless of race, gender or creed are entitled to. And last but not least, to Paradise, California. This city should serve as a guiding light to all of those with the hopes and dreams of seeing the people of the world turning towards and striving for all that is good despite all they have been through. These people are pulling together and rebuilding their city piece by piece. Lately things here at the Santa Rita Detention facility have been what they have been. First of all, we have to keep in mind that this is a jail and prisons and jails are to house those who either have been accused or convicted of committing a crime. We also have to keep in mind that these persons are to be kept safely and these incarcerated individuals are entitled to their human rights and should still be treated with respect and dignity. We also should keep in mind that punishment should be handed down by those who are voted into positions to do so by the citizens and no one person should take it upon his or her self to inflict pain or punishment except what is prescribed by the court of law and or any other disciplinary actions deemed by the appointed person or persons. I would assume that it is safe to say that here in Unit 7 Max we have been experiencing slight changes to the program since the closure of the Glen Dyer North County Facility. Roughly 400 inmates were transferred to the facility here at Santa Rita due to this closure. There were also numerous employees that were affected by this closure as well. It was reported by the Bay Area News Group that this facility was closed to save money and cut back on cost of overtime, utility bills, and so forth. Around 1 million or so odd dollars are still being put aside to pay utilities for a building that is not in use because it shares utilities with the Wylie Manual Courthouse. And cutting off these utilities would cause mold and the problems to the infrastructure. This alone not to add the stress of the California wildfires to the listing my honest opinion is a department that is lacking the resources that is needed to fully operate this facility. This facility is nowhere near its full capacity, only housing roughly 2,500 or so inmates on a day to day basis and yet it struggles to operate due to staffing shortages... The county of Alameda allowed a one time 340 million dollar payment for a period of 3 years to help reduce the growing crisis of homelessness. There were talks of even placing a program here at Santa Rita for individuals upon release to ensure that those with drug habits and or problems with homelessness would have the help that they needed upon release. This would also help with recidivism here at the facility as well. There were even talks of possibly turning the facility at Glen Dyer into one of these programs. I also think that mandatory mealtimes should go into effect here at the facility and or there should be a mandatory timeframe or window set when inmates should be fed. Lately, here at the facility, we have witnessed times when it was as late as 9:00pm before we had eaten dinner and even our lunches didn't arrive until well between 3:00-5:00pm on certain days. This is a big change from the usual lunch and dinnertimes, This is also an unhealthy habit to form especially for those who suffer from diabetes and other chronic health problems. I think that those who are in charge of the operations of this facility should go back to the drawing board and really assess. Incarcerated should approach this situation with a higher level of understanding and realize that there is a disaster that is going on and to ensure the safety of the public is number one priority and we should also not forget that a lot of the individuals incarcerated here have families that are out there and some these people are also making sure they are safe as well. I also think that those that are liable for the causes of these fires should be held accountable because this extra form of punishment placed upon these inmates and the employees here is caused by their lack of effort to fix their problematic equipment after they have been warned time and time before. DG & E owes these peoples an apology and should do whatever is necessary to assist these counties in fixing these problems. This is once again a situation where the entire community here at Santa Rita should be allowed to voice their opinion and those voices should be heard and respected from both sides of this community. Stay tuned to Spit Fire to Inspire for the next edition of Town Business Coming up - take a inside look at Santa. Rita Alameda County Detention Center from the front lines as we will hear testimony of inmates, employees, volunteers, visitors ect on conditions here at the facility as well as practical views of prison reform and ways to operate the facility. It doesn't get any closer than this. Be sure to keep it locked at Spit Fire to Inspire this is coverage you won't wanna miss. "Sho is Funky," part 2. Spit Fire to Inspire