CITIZENS MONITOR JAILBREAKS; PITCHESS' NEIGHBORS GET QUICK WARNING.Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer When 14 inmates escaped in 1995 from the Pitchess Detention Center A detention center or a detention centre is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean:
It wasn't like the days when minimum-security inmates walked away from the Saugus honor ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. . Pitchess now houses maximum-security inmates, men facing trial for murder, rape and other heinous hei·nous adj. Grossly wicked or reprehensible; abominable: a heinous crime. [Middle English, from Old French haineus, from haine, hatred, from crimes. ``We could no longer tolerate tol·er·ate v. 1. To allow without prohibiting or opposing; permit. 2. To put up with; endure. 3. To have tolerance for a substance or pathogen. security lapses,'' said the 75-year-old Azhderian, a member of the Castaic Town Council. So a new warning system to quickly alert residents of escapes went into effect, and the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Sheriff's Department was founded by Azhderian. Composed of 14 local volunteers, the committee works in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. to notify residents of jailbreaks and other emergencies. ``We work together with this group. The department could not notify all the residents by itself, so this is essential in keeping the residents safe,'' said Chief Barry King of the Sheriff's Department's Custody Division. The committee formed a ``phone tree,'' which activates in emergency situations. Each of the 14 members of the committee calls five people on his or her phone list, and they in turn call five more neighbors. ``We are able to reach 1,400 people in the neighborhood in less than 20 minutes,'' Azhderian said. This takes place after the commander on duty at Pitchess or an officer in the Sheriff's Department notifies the committee of an escape or other emergencies. ``This allows the neighbors time to lock their doors, close their garages and get the kids inside,'' said Azhderian. ``When citizens work with the sheriffs, the results are usually good.'' When slaying suspect Robert Carassco escaped from the jail Saturday, neighbors did not fret. The phone tree went into effect and the Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). began an intensive manhunt man·hunt n. An organized, extensive search for a person, usually a fugitive criminal. manhunt Noun an organized search, usually by police, for a wanted man or fugitive Noun 1. for Carassco. ``The citizens are the eyes and ears of law enforcement,'' King said. Azhderian, a Castaic resident of 34 years, said that although everyone doesn't always agree on the issues, the committee enjoys its role in helping to fight crime. ``We have some differences, like the naming of the jail for instance,'' he said. Pitchess opened in the 1930s as the Wayside Honor Rancho ran·cho n. pl. ran·chos Southwestern U.S. 1. A hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers. 2. A ranch. , a county jail where those convicted of drunk driving and other alcohol-related crimes worked off short sentences. Now with a majority of its 9,000 inmates classified as maximum-security risks, some residents demanded that the jail, since named after former Sheriff Peter J. Pitchess, drop the word ``honor'' from its name. ``I thought it ought to be more correct. I don't like double talk,'' he said. ``I think jail ought to be in the title. The truth is that it's a jail.'' Many residents, he said, didn't realize Pitchess was home to felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. suspects. During the regular community meetings at Live Oak Elementary School elementary school: see school. , the issue continued to be voiced until the name was changed. ``This committee is like a miracle,'' said Azhderian, who also commends sheriff's officials for seeking help from the public. ``For the most part, everyone is recaptured. The only time someone gets away is when they leave the country. By that time, we have long since secured the neighborhood,'' he said with a smile. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) Sam Azhderian of the Castaic Citizens Advisory Committee spreads the word on escapes from Pitchess. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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