Nature of Incident: Ventura County Jails Extend Time Period for Suspension of In-Person Visitation through the month of January
Location: Pre-Trial Detention Facility / Main Jail, Ventura; Todd Road Jail Facility, Santa Paula, CA
Date & Time: January 12, 2022
Unit(s) Responsible: Detention Services Division
Narrative:
Since the onset of COVID-19, the Sheriff’s Office has worked to create plans to minimize the spread of this illness inside the jail facilities as a precaution to protect those who are currently unaffected.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office continually monitors all individuals in the custody of the Sheriff to quickly identify and respond to concerns. Over the past few weeks, we have monitored a continuous spike in COVID-19 cases among the population at both the Main Jail in Ventura and the Todd Road Jail in Santa Paula. This spike coincides with the spike seen within the County population.
As such, both the Main Jail and Todd Road Jail facilities temporarily suspended In-Person visitation. Based on this ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases and out of an abundance of caution, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to quarantine the entire population at both facilities in an effort to slow the rate of transmission and ensure public health and safety.
To help accomplish our goal of slowing the spread, in-person social visits have been cancelled at the Main Jail and Todd Road Jail through the remainder of January. Video visitation is still available. (www.venturasheriff.org/inmate-information/visiting-information/video-visitation/) The suspension of in-person visits will be reevaluated on February 1, 2022 and reinstated once it is safe to do so.
Cancelling in-person visits will not only protect lives, but it will also protect the visiting public from exposure by other visitors in the public lobby and confined visiting spaces. Professional visits, including those by attorneys, will still be permitted but only as a non-contact visit.
The Sheriff’s office values visitation as an essential part of inmate rehabilitation but at this time, the health of inmates, visitors, and staff must be protected.
Prepared by: Captain Dean Worthy
News Release Date: January 12, 2022
Media Follow-Up Contact: Commander Mark Franke (805) 933-8505
Approved by: Commander James Fryhoff