This article was written in 1995. Ten years later the jail is still in operation.
STIGATIONS; HEALTH CONCERNSGE: SAN FRANCISCO; SAN BRUNO -- The City's dilapidated jail in San Bruno is unfit to house people and should be closed immediately, according to a scathing new report by the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury.
An eight-month investigation turned up 66 health, building and fire code violations, "and those were just the problems we could see," said Dr. Anthony Dintcho, a grand jury member who wrote the report, which will be released Friday.
Among the problems: exposed wiring, rat and cockroach infestation, raw sewage spills, general filth, no fire sprinklers and a structure that hasn't been reinforced to withstand a major earthquake.
"This isn't Calcutta or Mexico City," Dintcho said.
"This is our own jail."
The men's jail, built 60 years ago, houses an average of 750 inmates - 200 more than it was designed to hold. About 25 percent of the inmates are doubled up in cells that were built for one.
Dintcho said one of the grand jury's biggest concerns was a rotting chlorine storage tank that could cause a catastrophe if it were to leak. The chlorine is used to flush out the sewers, he said.
City officials, particularly Sherriff Michael Hennessey, who runs the jails, were not surprised by the grand jury's findings. In addition, a lawsuit on jail conditions has been filed on behalf of inmates.
"Obviously, I'm aware of the code violations in the building," Hennessey said Wednesday. "The building should be replaced. It needs to be replaced."
But voters in 1992 and 1994 rejected proposed bond measures to pay for the project. Although a majority of the voters supported the measures, they failed to receive the two-thirds vote required for passage.
Bill Lee, San Francisco's chief administrative officer, said The City would try again for a new jail - perhaps in November 1996 - and would improve its effort to gain community backing. When last on the ballot, the project would have cost $196 million.
"My dilemma is that I would like to shut down the jail immediately, but I have to have a place to put the inmates," Hennessey said. Although The City's new lockup at Seventh and Bryant streets is operating at less than half its 440-inmate capacity, it is scheduled to fill by summer. But the sheriff said that wouldn't solve the problem at San Bruno.
The grand jury called on The City to take more drastic measures, such as converting the fifth floor of the Hall of Justice - now the headquarters for the Police Department - to jail space. The two floors above now are used for jails.
The grand jury also criticized The City for not taking enforcement action on the code violations. However, it has been the opinion of the city attorney that since the jail sits on land in neighboring San Bruno, there's a jurisdictional problem.
City Attorney Louise Renne said her office would look at the issue again, but questioned whether the Board of Supervisors and the mayor would as a matter of policy decide to comply with the codes.
Said Dintcho, "We have to get away from people not taking responsibility for the atrocious situation we have out there. If we can't make a legal argument on why we should close down the jail, we should make a moral one."