Los Angeles County Jail: Bail Me Out Scotty It's Too Dangerous in Here

With approximately 20,000 detainees, the Los Angeles County jail system is collectively the largest jail in the world and the most expensive in the United States costing nearly $1 billion a year to operate. Men's Central Jail is nearly 50 years old and currently houses an average of 5,000 detainees. Men's Central Jail is located just north of downtown Los Angeles at 441 Bauchet Street between the 101, 110 and 5 freeways. Its primary purpose is to provide security for sentenced and high security, pre-trial inmates. Together with the Transportation Bureau (TST), the Inmate Reception Center (IRC), the Twin Towers Correctional (TTCF), and the Central Jail Arraignment Courts (CJAC), all located on Bauchet St. make up the Central Regional Justice Center.

Originally constructed in 1963 at a cost of $16.3 million, Men's Central Jail was designed to house 3,323 inmates and contains 585,150 square feet of floor space. In 1976, an addition was completed at a cost of $35 million, adding 350,000 square feet of floor space and raising the inmate rated capacity to 5,276. Currently, the inmate capacity of Men's Central Jail is approximately 6,750. As of August 2004, the average cost to house an inmate at MCJ is approximately $61.21 per day.

People are transferred here all hours of the day and night from all over Los Angeles. This is the busiest jail in all of the United States. The jail houses inmates awaiting trial, as well as inmates who have been convicted and are serving local county time. The Men's Central Jail (MCJ) has a fully equipped hospital where doctors and nurses can treat inmates with almost any medical condition, including mental health issues.

The Los Angeles County jails, especially the Men's Central Jail and the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles, are not pleasant places to be incarcerated. Many would describe the Los Angeles County Jail System as scary, dangerous and understaffed. Cells in the Men's Central Jail are literally filled to double the capacity intended. There are 200 three-man cells each holding six men.

A report released recently, May 2010, by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California shows that overcrowding and unsanitary conditions that have plagued Los Angeles County's Men's Central Jail for more than 30 years still persist, along with an apparent culture of violence and fear, including prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and the use of excessive force by deputies. As the Los Angeles Times reported: "Since 2000,15 people have been slain in Los Angeles County jails, including several low-risk inmates killed by gang members or other dangerous convicts."

Considering the fact that more than half of the inmates at Men's Central Jail are awaiting trial together with the high cost to operate MCJ and house detainees, many argue that society would be better served by greater use of the bail bonds system to alleviate the overcrowding and reduce the potential harm to those charged with non-violent crimes.