Jail Conditions:
Inmate, Staff & Family Perspectives

Report to Santa Clara County
Blue Ribbon Commission
Scott Emblidge & Jodie Smith
Moscone Emblidge & Otis LLP

WHAT WE WILL COVER
• Interview Methodology
• Analytical Considerations

• Report of Critical Issues
• Discussion

METHODOLOGY: OVERVIEW
• 944 Inmate Interviews—Main & Elmwood (every unit)
 27% (approx. 1 in 4) of total inmates (avg. jail pop. 3500)
 Group announcements and individual interviews
• 33 Jail Staff Interviews (approx. 4%)
• 8 Family Interviews
• All interviews were
 Voluntary
 Confidential
 Anonymous

• Interviews in English and Spanish (Cantonese available, but not
requested)

METHODOLOGY: PURPOSE
•

Be the voice of those not able or willing to address the
Commission directly

•

Accurately report to Commission what we were told

•

NOT to validate whether comments made to our team
were true or false

•

NOT to investigate particular incidents or individuals

METHODOLOGY: INTERVIEW NOTES
•
•
•
•

Attorneys took notes of each interview
Summary of each interviewee’s comments entered in master document
Notes taken during interviews destroyed (confidentiality & anonymity)
Exhibits to Report
Summary of Inmate Comments—Exhibit A
Summary of Jail Staff Comments—Exhibit B
Summary of Family Comments—Exhibit C
• Summary of Inmate Comments spreadsheet with coding by issue available
by request, blueribbon@mosconelaw.com

ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
CRITICAL ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED
• 10 issues are focus of report
 frequently mentioned
 consistently presented as critical by interviewees
• Other issues identified in the Summary of Interview
Comments are also important
 Example—food (frequent, but not critical)
 Example—sexual misconduct (critical, but infrequent)

ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
SELF-SELECTION & PERCEPTIONS
Self-Selection Bias?
• Self-selected sample
• 27% of inmates
• Smaller % of staff and families
• Not possible to know if interviewees’ perspectives match those of
non-interviewees
Perception v. Reality
• Even incorrect impressions are important drivers of behavior
• Perceptions of reality can be just as important as the actual reality

ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
FEAR OF PARTICIPATION
• Interviewees given BRC attorneys’ business card
• Approx. 20 reports of retaliation or interference
• Only 1 inmate gave permission to break anonymity, report retaliation to
Sheriff’s Office
• Examples of Reported Retaliation and Interference—inmates & staff

ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
INMATES’ UNDERSTANDING OF PUNISHMENT

• Many inmates commented that jail is not supposed to be pleasant
 “I understand the COs need to be stern with us sometimes to
keep the discipline. This is jail, after all. But…”
• Recognition that some issues not a big deal, while others were
critical

ISSUE 1: LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN
GRIEVANCE CHANNELS
• Consensus=grievance system is broken (all 3 groups of interviewees)
• 690/944 inmates commented on this, 73% of inmates interviewed
(20% total jail population)
• Complaints include:
 problems obtaining a grievance form
 officers not accepting forms
 inmates not getting a receipt, response, or meaningful answer
 retaliation

ISSUE 1: LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN
GRIEVANCE CHANNELS
2 complaints were exceedingly common—
• Submitting a grievance form to an officer is a major impediment.
• COs allegedly throw away grievances.

ISSUE 1: LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN
GRIEVANCE CHANNELS
Officers:
• Acknowledged that having inmates give grievance forms to COs “puts
inmates in a very difficult position.”

Family comments:
• After a while, most inmates give up filing a grievance, because they don’t
think they go anywhere.

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
• Issue is about collective attitudes, informal practices, norms that
impact how official jail policies are actually implemented
• 689/944 (73%) inmates addressed these issues
• Heard very often:
“It depends on the officer, like pretty much everything in here.”

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Unresponsive jail staff—inmate interviews
• Rulebook advises inmates they have right to be informed of jail rules,
procedures, schedules.
• Inmates often described lack of a “public service mindset” amongst COs
• Often attributed to officers spending significant time on their cellphones

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Unresponsive jail staff—staff interviews

Officers explained on-the-job apathy in their ranks due to low morale:
• Low morale makes COs not care and not want to be proactive.
• Culture is to not take responsibility; “kiss up, kick down”—kiss up to those
above you and kick the problems down to others rather than deal with them
directly.
• There is no incentive for good behavior. Why not reward COs who solve
problems?

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Use of force—inmate interviews
• Individual reports by inmates of specific use of excessive force

• General perceptions
 Use of force is often disproportionate to the need
 Deputies use excessive force with mentally ill and older people
 The deputies who do this are a particular group of "bad apples"
 Reports are most pronounced at Main Jail North and South
Families make similar reports

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Demeaning language—inmate interviews
Rulebook states that inmates have right to expect to be treated respectfully
by jail personnel.
But, inmates very consistently reported that a significant percentage of
officers use dehumanizing and belittling language with them.

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Officer discretion—inmate interviews

Rulebook states inmates have the right to be treated impartially and fairly by
jail staff.
But, inmates and families reported that officers’ discretion often results in
favoritism, arbitrariness, little adherence to policy.

ISSUE 2: GAPS BETWEEN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Officer discretion—officer interviews
• Officers explained that many officers make their own rules for how to run
the jail during their shift.
• They reported that, when officers make their own rules, it leads to unsafe
environments for officers and inmates.
• When one guard follows the rules, and the others don’t (for fear of a
grievance or being reprimanded for harshness), it makes things really hard
on the officers who do implement the rules.

ISSUE 3: DELAYS AND DEFICIENCIES IN
MEDICAL CARE
• 509/944 (54%) inmates comments on access/quality of medical care
• 260/944 (28%) inmates commented on access/quality of mental health
care
• Often said “my biggest concern is medical”

ISSUE 3: DELAYS AND DEFICIENCIES IN
MEDICAL CARE
Most frequent complaints
• Difficulty in getting medical attention, appointments,
prescriptions
• Quality of care is poor
• Emergencies are not recognized or treated as such

ISSUE 3: DELAYS AND DEFICIENCIES IN
MEDICAL CARE
Most frequent complaints, con’t.
• Careless mistakes—mixing up inmates’ medications, running
out of medicine
• Worse at Elmwood Women’s
• Forced, cold-turkey withdrawal from psychiatric medications
• Dental care too limited, optometry completely unavailable

ISSUE 4: POOR HYGIENE AND
SANITATION CONDITIONS
• 803/944 inmates (85% of interviewees, 23% of the total pop.)
identified hygiene and sanitation issues as a concern
• Often, the first topic mentioned, passionately expressed
• Keeping clean has major impact on their dignity, state of mind, and
physical health
• Reports of rashes, ringworm, scabies, and staph infections

ISSUE 4: POOR HYGIENE AND
SANITATION CONDITIONS
Scarcity and condition of clothing reportedly impedes personal hygiene
and puts inmates at risk for disproportionate discipline:
• Inmates only get one set of clothes, and only get to exchange them two
times per week – must live, eat, workout, and sleep all in one set of
clothing.
• Consequence: Inmates hoard clothes or wash their own clothes and
then get infractions.
• Clothing is torn, wrong size, in poor condition, old, dirty, blood stained.

ISSUE 4: POOR HYGIENE AND
SANITATION CONDITIONS
Inmates consistently reported officers won’t give them sufficient
cleaning products:
• Jail provides small amount of Comet, solution, and scrubber
supposed to last a week, but insufficient; if ask for more, told to wait.
• They do not have enough cleaning supplies so it ends up making
many people sick.
• The showers are filthy. The black mold is visible. They do not receive
enough cleaning supplies to clean the entire bathroom and dorm.

ISSUE 4: POOR HYGIENE AND
SANITATION CONDITIONS
Inmates were very concerned about policies & practices that make it very
difficult to keep themselves clean and healthy:
• Indigent kits need deodorant, shampoo, conditioner—makes unsanitary
conditions for all.
• Inmates use sinks to bathe because shower time is inadequate.
• Women only get 2 menstrual pads per shift; it’s not enough.
• They receive only 2 little pieces of soap per week.

ISSUE 5: INSUFFICIENT AND INCONSISTENT
OUT-OF-CELL TIME
• 481/944 (51%) inmates commented
• Especially acute for—high security, mental health, protective custody
units
• Variations by physical configuration of housing unit and inmate
classification

ISSUE 5: INSUFFICIENT AND INCONSISTENT
OUT-OF-CELL TIME
Inmate Comments
• The problem is that, without time out of cell, you can't call family, shower, get
hot water, exercise, etc.
• Some officers give enough out of cell time, but not others.

• More experienced officers often allow inmates out of the cells. But, many
officers lack the skills and keep inmates in their cells for long periods.

ISSUE 5: INSUFFICIENT AND INCONSISTENT
OUT-OF-CELL TIME
Officers also note problems with the amount and unpredictability of outof-cell time
• Inmates need regular time out of their cells; inadequate staffing has
led to COs not being able to give inmates regular time out. This
frustrates inmates and they take their frustration out on COs.
• If inmates, especially mental health inmates, can’t count on getting out
they get upset; “it’s a recipe for disaster.”

ISSUE 5: INSUFFICIENT AND INCONSISTENT
OUT-OF-CELL TIME
Family members were concerned about the deficiency of formal
programming
• The jail isn’t providing any programs. For reentry, one day the inmates are
going to get released, and what skills are they going to have?
• The conditions of no programs exacerbate mental health problems, stress.
• Her son has no access to constructive activity. Family sends him books, but
that’s all.

ISSUE 6: LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN
CLASSIFICATION AND INMATE DISCIPLINE

Classification Decisions

Disciplinary
Infractions
(Right to Appeal)

Custody
Inputs
(“Silent”)

ISSUE 6: LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN
CLASSIFICATION AND INMATE DISCIPLINE

Inmates report need for more transparency in classification and discipline
• Inmate got upclassed suddenly with no explanation. How can she correct
herself if she doesn’t know what she’s doing wrong?
• Inmates get CI’s (“custody inputs”) the inmate can’t see and can’t explain their
side of story, but the CI’s get used to make classification changes.
• There is no opportunity at the County level to challenge housing classifications.
• An infraction hearing is “kangaroo court.”

ISSUE 7: DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN JAIL
COMPARED TO PRISON
• Affects subset of inmates, but impacts them in virtually every domain
• Perceived impacts:
 Serving more days behind bars than in state prison
 No pay or “good time” for days worked in jail
 No educational/vocational opportunities beyond GED for reentry
 No access to outside review of grievances, such as prisoners have
 No access to the Title 15 Rulebook, only the county rulebook

ISSUE 7: DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN JAIL
COMPARED TO PRISON
Inmate Comments:
• “I would rather be in prison”

• Time served– “third” time vs. “half time”
• Few skills/education other than GED
• Jail’s treatment is unlawful

ISSUE 8: UNDERSTAFFING
Almost every jail staff member interviewed reported concerns:

• In past the jails were “fully staffed;” made jails safer for COs and inmates.
• Staffing shortages are unsafe for officers and unfair to inmates. Inmates
need a routine, but inadequate staffing means their routine constantly gets
disrupted.
• Staffing has been way too thin since the jails came back under the Sheriff’s
office.
• Staffing has been better since the BRC was created, but it will go back to
inadequate levels after the BRC goes away.

ISSUE 8: UNDERSTAFFING
Inmates reported cancellation of appointments and activities due to shortstaffing:
• Her medical appointment was rescheduled six times because jail was short
staffed.
• Staffing shortages also cause inmates to spend much more time on lockdown
due to lack of COs – not even allowed out to shower.
• Visitations are too short, a half hour, and only two a week. Officers give us an
excuse that they are short staffed.

ISSUE 9: INAPPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR STAFF MISCONDUCT
• Agreement among inmates and staff that officer
discipline/accountability systems do not work
• Differing perceptions about WHY
• 512/944 (54%) of Inmates commented on issue
• Jail Staff frequently commented
• Families commented

ISSUE 9: INAPPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR STAFF MISCONDUCT
Jail Staff Comments (all from multiple interviewees):
• Leadership does not hold COs accountable for “bad” behavior. “The
Sheriff can’t stand negative attention so bad behavior goes
uninvestigated.”
• They have reported misconduct by other staff and nothing has
happened.
• Supervisors are promoted based on who they know, not on how they do
their jobs or how much experience they have.

ISSUE 9: INAPPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR STAFF MISCONDUCT
Jail Staff Comments—Synthesis
• On one hand—lieutenants and captains are not held accountable from the
top, and the lack of accountability trickles down. Culture = “fear,”
“intimidation,” or “retaliating against you if you rock the boat”
• On the other hand—jail staff’s perception that leadership does not
support officers, rushes to hold officers accountable before culpability
established
• “Sweep it under the rug” + “throw officers under the bus” = exceedingly
low morale

ISSUE 9: INAPPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR STAFF MISCONDUCT
Inmate and Family Comments:
• Officers are never held accountable. Internal Affairs and formal complaints to
Sheriff doesn’t do anything, either. The only way to get your voice heard is to
have a relative advocate on the outside try to help.
• No accountability for COs—nothing ever changes; she has no hope things will
improve.

ISSUE 10: INMATES ARE UNAWARE OF
INMATE WELFARE FUND
• 163/944 (17%) addressed IWF, but often only “Inmate has not heard
of IWF”
• Inmates reported a general lack of understanding and benefit
regarding the IWF
• A few who knew of it believe it is misused and inmates do not benefit

ISSUE 10: INMATES ARE UNAWARE OF
INMATE WELFARE FUND
• Some inmates knew the IWF pays for indigent hygiene kits from Commissary

• Some inmates knew of IWF as the fund that pays for incentive sodas given as
a reward for work or cell checks
• 293 inmates spoke of issue that impacts IWF directly, phone call rates

DISCUSSION