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N E W S  Release
Office of Richmond Mayor Tom Butt

For Immediate Release                                      May 25, 2015

Contact:
Terrance Cheung – Chief of Staff; Office 510-620-6502; Cell 415-990-2087
David Gray – Director of Projects & Programs; Office 510-620-6503

Contra Costa County Sheriff Livingston expected to attend Richmond city council meeting to discuss proposed West County prison expansion

What:   Presentation by Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston to expand the West County Detention Facility
When:  Richmond City Council; Tuesday, May 26, 2015; 6:30 p.m.
Where: Richmond City Council Chambers; 440 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA

Richmond, Calif. – At the request of Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston will explain his plans to add 480 beds to the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) during Richmond’s May 26th City Council meeting.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is planning to apply for an $80 million state grant – matched with an additional $10 million in funding from Contra Costa County – to build a new 150,000 square foot building at WCDF. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the new building will house high-security inmates who require mental health services.

According to the County’s draft environmental impact report, the Sheriff’s Office plans to transfer more than 450 inmates from its Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) to the WCDF, raising the population of WCDF to more than 1,000 while lowering the population at the MDF to roughly 400. Some of the beds at MDF will continue to be used by the Sheriff’s Office, and the MDF would continue to serve as the primary booking facility for law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County.

No public meetings for the proposed prison expansion were planned in Richmond until Mayor Butt invited Sheriff Livingston in an April 30th letter to make a presentation to the Richmond City Council during its upcoming study session on May 26th.

“We’re the host city for the West County jail,” said Mayor Butt.  “We should be given every opportunity to be a real and engaged partner in the development of the proposal but we so far, we’ve been left out of the planning.”

Mayor Butt is also asking Sheriff Livingston to create a working group that includes City representatives to develop the programs at the new facility, commit additional funding for post-release services to help formerly incarcerated men and women to become successful, and create a booking center in West County.

“If more than three quarters of the total inmate population in the County will be housed at the West County jail, we need to make sure we have the appropriate resources to help our impacted West County communities,” said Mayor Butt.