PITCHESS DORMS REOPENED BEDS NOW AVAILABLE AFTER SHORTAGE AT L.A. COUNTY JAILS.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

CASTAIC - The Pitchess Detention Center reopened four dormitories Friday to help reduce the number of inmates forced to sleep on the floor as a result of a bed shortage at county jail facilities, authorities said.

The shortage of beds, especially at Men's Central Jail and the Twin Towers facility, both in downtown Los Angeles, has created a public health risk for inmates and deputies assigned to the jails, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which claimed that sleeping on the floor leaves people vulnerable to staph infections.

The reopening of the dormitories at Pitchess' North Facility - previously closed because of cuts to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department budget - makes available nearly 400 beds for inmates from jail facilities across the county, including the North County Correctional Facility at Pitchess in Castaic.

``At times, there were anywhere from 100 to 200 floor-sleepers'' at NCCF, said Sheriff's Lt. Jody Sharp. ``It changes all the time. Overcrowding is not a good thing, and any time we can get inmates in a bunk, that's better for everyone.''

Sharp said staff at the North Facility reported Friday that three busloads of inmates had arrived from the Inmate Reception Center - the processing hub for the county's jail system - that morning, with two more buses expected Friday night.

The ACLU last week asked Sheriff Lee Baca to consider using some of the more than $24 million restored to his department's budget last December to address the bed shortage issue.

``When they sleep on the floor, they get a thin mattress, and they often sleep under staircases, where they're accessible to all the inmates,'' said Jody Kent, jails project coordinator for the Southern California branch of the ACLU.

``If you have inmates sleeping on the floor, it's a health hazard,'' Kent said. ``Leaky toilets, dirty floors, their blankets are touching the floor. The No. 1 complaint from inmates is sleeping on the floor.''

With nearly 400 additional beds now available, officials at IRC can assign inmates without beds to Pitchess and alleviate the burden on inmates and deputies who report to the jail facilities everyday.

``When inmates have a bed, they're happier, and it creates a better environment for them and for the deputies,'' Sharp said. ``As of now, I think we only have about 70 inmates (at NCCF) who don't have a bed. That's a decrease from the usual 100 to 200. We're already seeing improvement.''

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com