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Furlough inmates' behavior questioned
County work release program has some neighbors concerned

by Daniel DeBolt

For over 20 years, the county work furlough program at 590 East Middlefield Road has given inmates a chance to hold down a job while serving out their sentences.

The program houses 118 inmates, all of them men purportedly convicted of low-level, nonviolent crimes such as embezzlement, driving under the influence or drug possession. Sentences typically range from six months to a year.

Under the furlough system, the men are allowed to maintain their day jobs to pay restitution to their victims or support their families. They must report back to the facility after work, and many of them commute using the light rail station across the street.

But times are changing for this neighborhood, with hundreds of new homes built in the last few years, and hundreds more in the pipeline. And some residents say the furlough program's inmates are unwanted neighbors — particularly when it comes to sharing the light rail station.

"Sometimes it's just me, me and a bunch of guys," said one woman, a nearby resident and engineer who until recently used the station in the early morning to get to her job in Sunnyvale. (The Voice is withholding her name by her request.)

She said the Middlefield light rail station is mostly populated by inmates in the mornings, and that they engage in crude language and behavior, making it an intimidating place to wait for a train.

Recently, she said, she saw one of the men grab his crotch and gesture towards a young woman in her early 20s who was also waiting at the station. For both her and the young woman, she said, taking a bus suddenly seemed like a better alternative.

She said that when she finally did start taking a bus, the driver asked her, "Tired of riding with those jailbirds?"

The woman added that one detail bothers her in particular: Some of the inmates are registered sex offenders.

According to the Megan's Law Web site, which was established to track sex offenders, at least two residents of the work furlough program have been convicted of "lewd and lascivious acts" with children under 14 years of age.

On the chopping block

Whatever neighbors think of the program may soon become moot, as the county has put it on the chopping block this year in order to save $1 million annually. If the program is cut, the county says, most inmates will become eligible for house arrest, while some would go to a minimum security prison.

But Supervisor Liz Kniss has said she is committed to keeping the program in operation.

"The center provides a very unique kind of opportunity" for rehabilitation, Kniss told the Voice last month. "I will fight for it again."

Meanwhile, it is up to Santa Clara County officials to make sure the program's inmates are not a problem for local residents, said Delores Nnam, spokesperson for the county probation department. Nnam said inmates would likely be advised that complaints about their behavior could affect their sentences.

"We would definitely respond to that kind of a complaint," she said. "We would re-advise them of their responsibility to the community. They would definitely be admonished, if nothing else."

Nnam confirmed that there are at least two sex offenders at the site, and that one of them was convicted of "sexual battery involving a restrained person."

She said it's up to the judges whether sex offenders can reside there, depending on how violent their offense is. Helping them stay employed means they can pay restitution to their victims.

She also noted that there is a camera on the rear of the building facing the light rail station. It was not confirmed how well the camera records activity at the station.

The former station user said she was aware of the camera, and that she tried all different ways to approach the problem, including contacting the county. But she said she received no response.

"I do not think it is fair that [women] have to go to such extremes to get to and from work safely," she said, adding that her college-aged daughter, who often visits a friend in Sunnyvale, also avoids the station.

Despite all that, she acknowledged mixed feelings about closing the center.

"I'm kind of torn," she said. "I do have compassion for people who have made mistakes, but I'm also a parent and a woman, so my concerns are that there are guys in there — child molesters, guys who do crimes against women."

INFORMATION:

Anyone reporting problems with the work furlough center can call Delores Nnam of the county probation department at (408) 468-1658.

E-mail Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com

Posted by jamie losada vargas, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2008 at 2:56 pm

like to know if in the program

Posted by 4l4n, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2008 at 5:01 pm

If they break the law they should be punished, but it sounds like the neighbors are mostly whining about legal activity.

Posted by DG, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Mar 13, 2008 at 9:13 pm

I think whenever something like this sort of lewd and lascivious behavior happens all the inmates in the program should be punished - perhaps they all lose weekend exercise/outdoor privileges or something. It's kind of like having the whole football team run extra laps when just one teammate screws up. Pretty soon the peer pressure to behave will take over and the inmates will be policing themselves.

Posted by 4l4n, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 14, 2008 at 12:03 pm

Its unjust to punish all the inmates for the behavior of one. They do not have complete control over each other, nor should they.

Posted by DG, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Mar 14, 2008 at 12:31 pm

I think the whole point of punishing all the inmates for the behavior of one IS that it is unfair. It the very nature of that unfairness that drives the innocent to exert peer pressure on the guilty to control their behavior, whether it be a sports team or a group of inmates or whatever. The inmates are a group that should be held accountable for each other's actions because the bad behavior of one could jeopardize the fate of the whole work furlough program as a whole.

Posted by 4l4n, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 14, 2008 at 4:02 pm

> I think the whole point of punishing all the inmates for the behavior of one IS that it is unfair.

It is important for society to treat inmates fairly so they have respect for society. Punishing everyone for the crimes of one person is arbitrary and capricious punishment, and would probably be a violation of the law.

> It the very nature of that unfairness that drives the innocent to exert peer pressure on the guilty to control their behavior, whether it be a sports team or a group of inmates or whatever.

The innocent can only exert that kind of pressure when they are present. 99.9% of the time this would not be the case, and therefore punishes the rest of the innocent inmates for no good reason.

> The inmates are a group that should be held accountable for each other's actions because the bad behavior of one could jeopardize the fate of the whole work furlough program as a whole.

How would you feel if I attempted to hold you accountable for your neighbors actions?

Would that cause you to watch your neighbors every move to make sure they don't slip up, or would it instead cause you to think that I was being unreasonable?

Punishing someone for someone else's action is a sure way to foster an attitude of distrust and long term resentment.

Posted by DG, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Mar 16, 2008 at 12:04 pm

According to the Voice article, a lot of these inmates ARE together during the periods in question (while waiting for and riding on the light rail train. This is the only time during the day they are exposed to the public and the only time I'm really concerned about). Presumably, these inmates act up during this time because it is the only time during the day they go unsupervised, either by law enforcement officials that work at the furlough building or by their supervisors and co-workers at their places of employment. I think this freedom is a tremendous privelege that convicted inmates do not normally get. If they abuse it and take it for granted then maybe they do deserve to be placed on house arrest instead. How would you feel if I was riding/waiting on the bus with my neighbor and he made lewd and lascivious gestures/comments to some lady and I stood by and didn't do anything about it? How about if that lady was your wife or daughter or mother? Seems to me this is the perfect opportunity for inmates to learn responsibility and accountability for one another and they're blowing it.

"Sometimes it's just me, me and a bunch of guys," said one woman, a nearby resident and engineer who until recently used the station in the early morning to get to her job in Sunnyvale.

She said the Middlefield light rail station is mostly populated by inmates in the mornings, and that they engage in crude language and behavior, making it an intimidating place to wait for a train.

Recently, she said, she saw one of the men grab his crotch and gesture towards a young woman in her early 20s who was also waiting at the station. For both her and the young woman, she said, taking a bus suddenly seemed like a better alternative.

She said that when she finally did start taking a bus, the driver asked her, "Tired of riding with those jailbirds?"

The woman added that one detail bothers her in particular: Some of the inmates are registered sex offenders.

According to the Megan's Law Web site, which was established to track sex offenders, at least two residents of the work furlough program have been convicted of "lewd and lascivious acts" with children under 14 years of age."

Posted by LULU, a resident of another community, on Jul 12, 2008 at 8:03 pm

MY SON WAS 15 YEARS OLD WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED, AND WAS TRIED AS AN ADULT AS SOON AS HE TURNED 16 YEARS OLD. HE IS NOW 39 AND WHEN HE WAS PICKED UP FROM OUR HOME, HE WAS WAS BEING QUESTIONED BY SEVERAL DETECTIVES FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO GO BEFORE THE JUDGE HIS PARENTS OR NO LAWYER WERE THERE TO REPRESENT HIM. WOULD'NT YOU AGREE THAT SOMEONE IN HIS SITUATION SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE GIVEN ATLEAST ONE OPPERTUNITY TO GET ON THE FURLOGH PROGRAM ATLEAST ONE TIME LIKE SO MANY HAVE THAT CHANCE AND THEY KEEP GOING BACK TO PRISON AGAIN AND AGAIN? MAYBE THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MATCHING THE STORY YOU ARE REFERRING TO, OR MAYBE I AM JUST A MOTHER WHO IS DESPERATE TO FIND HELP FOR HER SON'S RELEASE AFTER 21 YEARS BEING INBCARCERATED. I AM HAVING HEART SURGERY COME JULY 17TH AND I PRAY I ATLEAST GET TO SEE MY SON. TWENTY- ONE YEARS IS TRULY A CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE NO MONEY.GOD BLESS TO ANYONE WHO EVEN READS THIS.