Sheriff and progressives meet to discuss new jail
By George P. Hassett

The sheriff of Middlesex County and the Progressive Democrats of Somerville  (PDS) met Aug. 22 to discuss the plans for a new Middlesex County jail and the possibility of it being located in East Somerville.

   Middlesex County Sheriff James V. DiPaola said he attended the meeting to clarify any rumors or misinformation that was circulating. He said he agrees philosophically with the members of PDS who are opposed to building more prisons, but he needs a new facility to house inmates awaiting trial because of severe overcrowding conditions in the Middlesex County jail in East Cambridge.
   The jail houses 370 inmates, but was designed for only 160, he said. It occupies floors 17 through 22 of the Middlesex County Courthouse, which is targeted for closing by the end of 2007 to undergo asbestos removal and a $125 million rehabilitation.
    ‚ÄúAs progressive Democrats you should have the compassion to be concerned with the overcrowding situation in our jails,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúThese facilities are were not built to rehabilitate prisoners, they were only built to incarcerate. I‚Äôm not out looking for more business, I have a crisis, the conditions are inhumane, unsanitary and unsafe for the officers and the inmates.‚Äù
     DiPaola said it was very early in the process and the only reason a Somerville location was being discussed for the jail is Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and his administration expressed interest in bringing it to the city.
     The benefit for Somerville of a new jail would be DiPaola‚Äôs plan to include a new Somerville Police headquarters in the building, said Curtatone spokesperson Thomas P. Champion in June. The current station is the subject of a lawsuit by over 60 city employees who say it is filled with molds that are causing their health problems. Champion acknowledged the building was not an effective, modern building for law enforcement.
     Officials have toured several sites in East Somerville as potential locations and the Department of Capital Asset Management is currently conducting a feasibility study for the area, DiPaola said.
     State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, attended the Aug. 22 meeting. Sciortino said he is opposed to building any new jail before cuts in mental health and substance abuse programs are restored to 2001 levels. Funding for preventive programs have decreased 11.6% since 2001, he said.
     ‚ÄúWe have increased jail capacity over and over and we still have this problem,‚Äù Sciortino said. ‚ÄúWe need to improve the programs that keep people out of jail and look at the backlog in the court system that is keeping prisoners waiting trial for excessive amounts of time before using valuable resources to build more jail space.‚Äù
      DiPaola said he agreed counseling and education options are essential and that he had a track record of doubling and tripling the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs in his jails.
      State Rep. Timothy J. Toomey Jr., D-Somerville, was also at the meeting and said a new jail was essential.
     ‚ÄúThe current jail has to be replaced, building no new prisons is just not feasible or possible,‚Äù Toomey said. ‚ÄúWhen you go there and see people sleeping in cots in the hallway, it is clear that these are not humane conditions. There has to be a prison somewhere, where it goes and how it gets there is up to the community to decide.‚Äù