It’s been awhile since my last blog post, but due to repeated calls from my adoring public ( well okay, Mom and Uncle Joe) I’ve written another thrilling, can’t put it down post! This time out we’ll be discussing Pay To Stay jails in Orange County. At this time, there are Pay To Stay facilities in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and Seal Beach.

So, you committed a crime, bailed out with Orange County Bail Bonds, went to court, and (oh no!) were sentenced. The purpose of a Pay To Stay jail is to allow someone convicted of a crime to serve their time in a city jail instead of the Orange County Jail. It permits a person to continue to work or attend school, to provide support for a family, and avoid disrupting a work schedule. For many, it also allows them to serve their sentence in a less intimidating environment. Most of the facilities allow inmates to attend work or school daily, from roughly 6:00am to 6:00pm.

Each facility has its own criteria for enrolling and rules of conduct (see attached form from the Anaheim PD) but they all are pretty standard as to cost, hours/days available, and types of crimes that would cause denial of the programs. Cost can vary depending on the facility, but is usually non refundable for violation of the rules once it’s paid. For a long sentence, the fees can be considerable, but again, the cost may outweigh the alternative, which is to serve a sentence in the general population of the Orange County Jail.

Anaheim Police Department   Pay To Stay – Work Release Program

The City of Anaheim Police Department will participate in work release programs for males and females arrested for most misdemeanors and some felonies with approval from the court. The primary criteria for acceptance are as follows:
• No violence – The arresting charge should not involve violence, however is evaluated on a case by case basis. History of violence may also be a cause for rejection. Initial _____

• No drugs – Individuals considering the City of Anaheim Pay To Stay/Work Release Program must refrain from the use of any alcohol or narcotics. For security reasons all participants must
agree to be strip searched each time that they return to the facility. Initial _____

• Timeliness – All commitment times must be adhered to at all times. There are no exceptions. Initial _____

• Health – Inmates wishing to participate in the Anaheim Pay-to-Stay/Work Release Program must provide the facility with a completed Medical Screening Application, signed by a licensed
physician. The form must be completed prior to entry into the facility. All cost associated with the process are the responsibility of the applicant. Initial _____

• Interview – Any person wishing to participate in the program must participate in an interview with a Correctional Sergeant prior to acceptance. Interviews are held by appointment only.
Initial _____

• Medications – Any medication required by any participant must be approved prior. ONLY APPROVED PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION will be permitted in the facility. Individuals
requiring unapproved psychotropic medications will not be accepted. Initial _____

• Paperwork – A signed court order/minute order affixed with the seal of the issuing court must state that the individual can be incarcerated at the City of Anaheim jail. In addition, the court
order must show what times the individual can leave and must return to the facility. This document must be approved prior to the surrender date. Initial _____

• Fee – Payment for the program is $150.00 for the first day, and $100.00 for each additional day. Payment is accepted in full or in two-week increments with the first two-weeks due upon
incarceration.  Money orders and cashier’s checks are the only form of payment accepted. Initial _____

• Grooming standards – All individuals accepted into the program agree to abide by the sentenced inmate grooming standards. No beards, Goatees, long hair or unruly hair. Hair shall be kept short and neat. Participants shall shave as required by staff. Mustaches must be groomed regularly. Initial _____

• Holidays – All Federal holidays ( Federal law 5 U.S.C. 6103) are considered a non-work day unless the day in question has been addressed on the commitment order. If you are in our custody on a holiday you will remain in our custody unless your commitment order has cleared you for that day. These holidays include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Initial _____

• Failure to Complete Program – In the event that you fail to complete your program without the permission of the pay-to-stay administrator; all funds paid in advance of time served will not be refunded.

Participants must refrain from the use of alcohol at all times when released from the facility for work. Any belief from staff that the participant has consumed alcohol, any narcotic, or any misuse of medication will result in immediate lock down and new charges. Initial _____

No property shall be allowed into the facility upon returning from work. This includes newspapers, magazines, or books. For security reasons all work furlough participants shall be strip searched upon re-entry into the facility. No cell phones, computers, IPADS etc., will be allowed into the facility. Initial _____

Family members can DONATE appropriate DVD’s/Books to the facility for inmates in the program. Any donated movie must be new (no previously used) and must be in sealed original packaging.
Donated movies/books shall be considered property of the Anaheim Detention Facility and will not be returned upon release. The ultimate decision to accept a movie/book will be the responsibility of the Correctional Sergeant on duty.

Visitation

Visitation for inmate workers/ work release participants occurs on Saturday and Sunday between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. All visits are non-contact.  Participants in the City of Anaheim Pay-to-Stay Program must agree to provide physical labor for the facility for a minimum of five hours on days that they are not released for work.

What to Bring

If you are a pay-to-stay inmate and need specialized clothing to wear when you leave the facility, you must discuss this with the work release supervisor prior to starting the program. When you report on your first day you should bring ONLY the following:
• A copy of the most current commitment order
• A check for full payment or $1,450.00, or if less than fourteen (14) days, the total amount due
• Medical clearance paperwork

You may also bring the following items:

• (2) pair of blue jeans
• (2) comfortable shirts (no slogans)
• (1) sweatshirt
• (1) sweat pants (for sleeping)
• (1) pair rubber soled shoes/tennis shoes (no boots/steel toes/dress shoes)
• (1) Belt
• No toiletries (all are provided)
• No writing equipment (will be provided)
• No jewelry, watches, or cash
For additional information contact a Correctional Sergeant at 714.765.1826.

This will be the third installment of the ongoing series of posts about Orange County jails. The third jail in the Orange County Jail system is the James Musick Facility, also known as The Farm. James Musick was an interesting guy!

Musick is a one hundred acre minimum security facility. The facility is located in an unincorporated area of the county near the cities of Irvine and Lake Forest. Originally the facility held a maximum of 200 male minimum-security inmates and was referred to as the “County Industrial Farm” or the “Honor Farm.” Since 1986, the inmate housing capacity has increased to 1,322 and includes both men and women. The inmates housed at the facility are considered to be a low security risk and most are in jail for crimes such as driving under the influence (DUI), minor drug possession, burglary/theft, failure to pay child support, and or prostitution.

(This is the entrance to the facility. You’ll need to show ID to the guard on duty before proceeding for visitation)

Inmates and ICE detainees who have committed violent crimes, sex crimes or mayhem are not eligible for transfer to the facility. The James A. Musick Facility provides custodial and rehabilitative programs for 1,322 adult male and female inmates and ICE detainees. Educational programs are available which enable the inmates to receive a G.E.D. while incarcerated. In addition, educational classes are offered in subjects such as; parenting, substance abuse, HiSET, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Vocational Classes that are offered at the facility includes; Cabinetry, Welding, and Workforce Readiness. The laundry facility at Musick also serves the Theo Lacy facility ( see our last blog/Facebook posts) as well as Orange County Juvenile Hall in addition to the laundry needs for the Musick facility.

The daily operations of the 1,322 bed facility are managed by Captain Bob Osborne . The facility was originally opened in 1963 and was named in honor of James A. Musick, ,a retired NFL star and former deputy. (Musick was a running back in the National Football League for the Boston Redskins (now the Washington Redskins) from 1932–1936. He led the NFL in rushing in 1933 His family moved to Southern California when Jim was a young boy. After attending Santa Ana High School, Musick played college football at the University of Southern California from 1929–1931. It was at USC he earned the nickname “Sweet” Musick as he helped lead the Trojans to two Rose Bowl victories and a national championship in 1931. Musick ranks 17th on the Trojans all-time career rushing list with 393 carries for 1,605 yards. While at USC Musick even had a brief flirtation with Hollywood, having an uncredited role along with fellow Trojan players and former player John Wayne in the 1932 movie That’s My Boy.

He came home from the war and successfully ran for the office of sheriff, assuming command in 1947. He would serve as sheriff for the next twenty-eight years – the longest term in department history. When he took office, the county was still mostly rural, with a population of 216,000 served by a department of only seventy-six. During Musick’s administration, a number of divisions and facilities were commissioned that remain active to this day.

He implemented the county’s first crime lab., Musick, as Orange County’s brand new sheriff in 1947, was mortified over the outcome of a sensational murder case, and pledged that no such thing would ever happen again.

On March 15, 1947, a small yacht, the Mary E, exploded in Newport Harbor. Aboard were wealthy Walter and Beulah Overell of Los Angeles. Watching from the shoreline as the boat blew up were their 17-year-old daughter, Beulah Louise, and her boyfriend, George “Bud” Gollum, 21. Beulah Louise had been threatened with disinheritance if she did not end the relationship with Gollum. The explosion occurred in incorporated Newport Beach, but that town’s investigators had scant experience in such matters, so the probe fell to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The young couple was arrested and charged with murder.

The notorious case—nothing like it had been seen here before—placed the Sheriff’s Department under unprecedented scrutiny. The prosecutor was not the district attorney, but rather was Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Williams, who was reputed to have higher political aspirations. He assembled what everybody thought was a substantial case: The Overells had first been bludgeoned to death by two boat stanchions, and the prosecution even located the store from which Gollum had purchased dynamite. The defense claimed that the boat had blown up from accumulated gas fumes. Because the sheriff’s office had no genuine crime lab, evidence had to be sent out for analyses, and the substantial sum of $75,000 was spent on outside expertise.

The widely publicized case stirred up enormous public interest. Imagine the shock when, after a sensational 19-week trial, the jury ruled for acquittal. Critical to the case had been forensic evidence, which turned out to be tainted because of distance and delay. Sheriff Musick was astonished and embarrassed, and vowed never again to lose a case because of poor lab work. He requested and received funding to establish a state-of-the-art crime laboratory, an innovative and efficient agency even today. The Overell case also resulted in legislation controlling the sale and purchase of explosives. In its peculiar way, the Overell murders of 1947 proved to be a watershed moment for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, where the case is still discussed by Forensics people today. He also started OC’s first Peace Officer’s Training Center (now known as the Katella Facility), and the nation’s first law enforcement Explorer post. The 1960s saw the construction of the Orange County Industrial Farm (later renamed the James A. Musick Jail Facility), the Theo Lacy Facility, and the headquarters and central jails still in use today.

In response to the civil unrest of the late 1960s, Musick formed the Emergency Action Group Law Enforcement (EAGLE) team, a group of deputies with specialized training in various riot control and specialized tactics. Although the team disbanded several years later, certain platoons evolved into the modern-day SWAT, Hazardous Devices, and Mounted Patrol units. The department grew even larger when the Coroner’s Office merged with it in 1971. By the time Musick retired in 1974, the county had expanded to a rapidly urbanizing population of over 1,400,000, with the department having grown to a staff of over 900.

Musick’s handpicked successor was Brad Gates, who became sheriff in 1975. The department continued its rapid expansion during his administration, with the merging of two more agencies – the Orange County Harbor Patrol and the Stanton Police Department. In response to severe jail overcrowding, the Intake Release Center was opened in 1988.(see our posts about the IRC)