The antiquated Orange County Central Women’s Jail in Santa Ana is being phased out in favor of improvements at other facilities in the jail system, sheriff’s officials said Monday.
Female inmates are no longer housed at the women’s jail, having been moved Saturday to the Intake-Release Center in Santa Ana and the Theo Lacy maximum security jail in Orange, said Commander Joe Balicki, who is in charge of sheriff’s custody.
Meanwhile, the 386-capacity Central Women’s Jail — built in 1968 in what is now an outdated linear style — is being used to quarantine incoming male inmates, who are isolated for 14 days upon arrival before they are placed with the rest of the population. Women will be quarantined at the Intake-Release Center, officials said.
Sheriff spokeswoman Carrie Braun reported there are currently three inmates in the jail population who have tested positive for COVID-19 and about 600 inmates in quarantine who have shown no symptoms.
Female jailers — civilian and sworn — who worked at the women’s jail have been moved to the other facilities. When the COVID-19 crisis is over, the women’s jail will be shuttered permanently, Balicki said.
Meanwhile, more than $17 million in improvements are underway at the Intake-Release Center, including an American with Disabilities Act-compliant triage center and three new modules — also ADA-compliant — for housing inmates.
“We no longer warehouse people. Our job is to provide care treatment as part of the county’s overall strategy,” Balicki said, echoing Sheriff Don Barnes. “It’s just going to enhance their (female inmates) living so much more by being moved out there” to Theo Lacy.
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