Blaine Street Women’s facility in Santa Cruz to reopen

After being closed for more than a year, The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is reopening the Blaine Street Women’s facility in Santa Cruz.

The facility used to house minimum security inmates, but due to a changing justice system their were not enough women in custody eligible to keep the space open. “Under prop 47 many common felonies were reduced to misdemeanors so people convicted of those crimes aren’t doing jail time. They’re out on other forms of confinement like electronic monitors or work release or probation. So the level of incarcerated persons that could stay in this facility, as it was as a minimum security jail, they didn’t exist.”

Now with revamped security including a camera system and new fencing, the facility can house up to 32 medium security inmates. Santa Cruz City Council member Cynthia Chase says this is expected to help incarcerated women get the help they need to get back into the community, “The fact that we brought it up to a higher level of security allows more women to take advantage of the programming, reentry support and therapeutic services and things we really want them to have to be successful in returning to the community and not returning to jail.”

At the main jail their are roughly 38 women incarcerated, more than half of them will be eligible to stay at the new facility. Sheriff Hart says “women generally commit theft crimes and drug and alcohol crimes thats what they are generally in for. So those are the women that will be here. and if there is a woman in custody who is in jail for a violent crime, she will be in our main jail because that’s where she classifies to.”

Chase says being housed at Blaine Street is a privilege, and in order to stay, the women will have to follow the set rules and participate, “we spent a lot of time really making sure that it felt like a comforting and safe space for women to really heal the trauma that often underlies the reason they are getting into jail. So it’s a space that is a privilege to be in and they recognize that and they also have to participate in the programs to be able to stay here.”

Some of the programs being offered are parenting and culinary classes, resume building and job training along with alcohol and substance classes.

Sheriff Hart says along with helping the inmates it will also help releive some of the overcrowding in the jail. “Our staff has done a fantastic job being at max capacity for many years and I think it’s going to bring down that pressure so they can actually serve the number of inmates that they’re staffed for rather than 33-35% more,” says Sheriff Hart.

The facility took about $350,000 to renovate, a new jail facility with 32 beds would usually cost close to 10 million dollars. It is expected to open in the next few weeks.