The Vista Detention Facility is now past its use-life and needs to be replaced, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
It was built in 1972 and it’s showing its age.
“We have a sewage backup, for instance,” Sheriff Kelly Martinez said.
The facility is the county's oldest jail, and she said the department has spent a lot of money to keep it "limping along."
For example, it cost $16 million to upgrade the wireless network, “which has been important for our body-worn cameras, and for our medical technology and things like that," she said. “So we're doing our best to keep it going.”
That's why the sheriff’s department held community forums to gather feedback on the future of the North County jail. Martinez said it was an opportunity to explain the need and to listen to stakeholders — including former inmates.
“People with lived experience, people who've had people who've died in custody, they want to share with us their thoughts about what a facility should look like,” she said.
The department has been under scrutiny for the high number of in-custody deaths. A report released in April shows that the Vista facility is one of two in the county with the highest number of in-custody deaths.
That was part of the reason for building a new facility, Martinez said, "to have safe spaces where people can get the treatment they need, where we can give them the proper medical and mental health care that's built for this population is very important to preventing in-custody deaths.”
The meeting Tuesday at Encinitas Community Center was the second community forum. The first was held in February, where community members expressed concerns about traffic and cost.
“Everyone is concerned about the cost and where that money is going to come from,” Martinez said
The County recently allocated $3 million for the planning, design and environmental review for a new facility.
Another forum is planned for later this year. The sheriff's department expects to have the master plan complete by fall. Construction could begin by 2028.
Anyone wishing to comment on the future of the Vista Detention Facility may do so at the sheriff's department's website.
