Back in the day, Yolo County Jail officials grappled daily with “the list” — a tally of inmates deemed suitable for release in order to make room for higher-priority offenders coming through the door.
The jail’s maximum capacity is 455, and many days some lower-risk inmates had to be let go in accordance with a federal court order that prevents jails from housing more occupants than there are beds.
Then came a series of criminal-justice reforms that in recent years have eased both county jail and state prison populations. The current coronavirus crisis has reduced them even further under a statewide Supreme Court order permitting the release of inmates with fewer than 60 days remaining in their sentences, provided they don’t pose a public-safety threat.
As of Thursday, the Woodland jail had discharged 21 inmates under that order, putting its population at 226. That’s allowed them to be housed individually in cells — thus complying with physical distancing protocols — for perhaps the first time since the jail opened in 1988.
“I’ve never seen us have the capacity to do this,” Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez, whose agency operates the jail, said in a report Tuesday to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.
The single-cell assignments is one of multiple ways the Sheriff’s Office is addressing COVID-19, which so far hasn’t surfaced among inmates or staff, according to Lopez.
Several inmates that have shown symptoms of or may have been exposed to coronavirus have been housed in a 10-bed isolation unit while awaiting testing results. Both current and incoming inmates are having their temperatures taken, as are sheriff’s employees before they enter the workplace.
Similar practices are underway at the neighboring Juvenile Detention Facility, where the population is down to four wards as the county Probation Department seeks to reduce arrests and bookings, Chief Probation Officer Dan Fruchtenicht said.
For those who remain, no-contact visits with glass partitions remain in effect, call privileges have increased, and juveniles’ educational programming continues via work packets and planned videoconferencing.
Should the jail see a surge in coronavirus exposure, “everyone would go into isolation and wouldn’t be allowed out of their cells,” except for showering every couple of days, Lopez said. The agency also has identified a potential 50-bed isolation unit, should that be required.
Video arraignments and remote preliminary hearings are keeping inmates sheltered in place. Should the Yolo County Courthouse need to close due to a coronavirus contamination, a temporary courtroom could be established on the sheriff’s campus.
Non-attorney visitations, suspended on March 13, remain on hold. Instead of visits, inmates receive two free 10-minute phone cards per week to stay in touch with family and friends. Mail and outside commissary deliveries are quarantined for 24 hours prior to distribution.
Meanwhile, the jail has increased its cleaning and sanitizing practices throughout the facility, releasing inmates from their cells in limited numbers while advising them about the importance of social distancing — though some haven’t needed the reminders.
“The jail population itself has taken this very seriously,” Lopez said.
Elsewhere on the sheriff’s campus, the Animal Services lobby remains closed, but methods to continue pet adoptions are in the works. The shelter has seen a boost in its foster programs and the animal count is down — no cats are on site and there is room for additional dogs.
Coroner’s officials, preparing for the possibility of a worst-case scenario, are seeking a refrigeration truck should they need to augment their capacity, Lopez said.
Patrol deputies are dispatched into the field with personal protective equipment. With Yolo County among the jurisdictions experiencing an uptick in domestic disputes among stressful shelter-in-place conditions, deputies are relying upon their conflict resolution training to keep the peace without making arrests.
“We’re doing everything we can to not bring people into the jail,” Lopez said. “We’ve not come upon a situation where we haven’t been able to resolve it.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene