COUNTY JAILS TO BAN SUGAR, FREE COFFEE AND SMOKING

Going to jail is never fun, but it's about to get even grimmer for nicotine
fiends, coffee addicts and sugar junkies in Santa Clara County.

In contrast to most Bay Area counties, whose jails ban only smoking, Santa
Clara County will also eliminate free coffee and accompanying sugar next
year -- at the same time as it reinstates a no-smoking ban.

``If you stay with us, you're going to have to change your whole
lifestyle,'' said Tim Ryan, the county's new chief of corrections, who
ordered the changes, which will start Jan. 1.

Ryan said the restrictions are intended to improve inmates' health. Surveys
have shown about 70 percent are using nicotine. There are no comparable
studies for sugar and caffeine.

But advocates for prisoners' rights are concerned that the austerity
measures could backfire, making inmates grumpy, sleepy, constipated and
unruly.

``It could create unnecessary stress for people who are already in a
stressful situation,'' said Amanda Wilson, an attorney with the Public
Interest Law Firm, a jail watchdog group. ``I'm not sure whether it's the
smartest management decision.''

Ryan said he is confident he can control any security problems arising from
the combination of restrictions. In fact, he is considering another --
eliminating certain television programs he considers violent, including
network news.

In restricting coffee and sugar, the county is going further than Santa
Cruz, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties, which ban
smoking but serve coffee and sugar.

Santa Clara County now serves free coffee with breakfast and provides sugar
to sweeten it. About a third of its 4,500 inmates may kill time by
smoking -- but only outdoors in designated areas at two of its five jails.
The county had prohibited smoking entirely in 1990, but eased the ban last
year to reduce brawling among inmates over contraband cigarettes.

Starting next year, once again, no one, including staff members, will be
allowed to smoke anywhere. Inmates who can afford it will be able to buy
instant coffee from the jail commissary for $1.50 for five servings. Packets
of artificial sweetener will also be available for sale.

No sugar at all

But sugar will not be sold because inmates were hoarding it to make
``pruno,'' a homemade alcoholic beverage made with stolen fruit and sugar,
Ryan said.

Sacramento County also withholds coffee -- but only from inmates who have
already been sentenced. Those who are awaiting trial still get a cup of joe
on the theory that they do not deserve to be punished before they are found
guilty, a lieutenant there said.

But Ryan said he managed to quit coffee this summer after coming down with
pneumonia, and if he can do it, so can the inmates.

``If they don't like it, hey, they don't have to come back,'' said Ryan, a
former Alameda County jail official who was hired to head Santa Clara
County's jails about 10 months ago.

State law does not require counties to serve coffee because ``it's not
nutritionally necessary,'' added Dick Munley, the jails's food service
director. Eliminating coffee will save the county $50,000 annually, less
than 1 percent of the jails' $9.5 million food budget. Occasionally, small
amounts of sugar will still be served to sweeten cold cereal, he said.

Suspecting that many inmates on special diets were malingering, the county
revised its menus, almost halving the number of inmates receiving special
meals. Nearly 18 percent of the inmates were on special diets, from low-salt
diets for inmates with high-blood pressure to menus for diabetics. In
contrast, only 4 percent to 7 percent of inmates in other counties needed
the diets, Munley said.

Menus changed

To save money, the county took fish and spicy foods off the menu,
eliminating the need to prepare special menus for inmates who claimed they
were allergic to fish or spice-sensitive. The county also eliminated the
special diet for lactose-intolerant inmates. All the changes were backed up
by educational programs, but Wilson said she is concerned inmates' health
will suffer.

The no-smoking policy is also expected to save money, primarily by reducing
inmates' medical costs. Exact estimates were not available. To help inmates
going through nicotine withdrawal, the county will lift a prohibition
preventing inmates from calling ``1-800'' numbers, allowing them to call a
counseling hotline. Also, some inmates will receive special training from
health educators in how to help other prisoners who are quitting.

Nationwide, slightly more than half of the 3,272 county jails ban smoking,
said Ken Kerle, managing editor of a newsletter called American Jails.

Santa Clara County banned smoking entirely eight years ago, but eased the
prohibition for some minimum-security prisoners last year after 30 prisoners
got into a brawl over the black market in cigarettes. Contraband cigarettes
were selling for a maximum of $200 a carton.

But Ryan said he prefers contraband cigarettes to contraband drugs.

``I'd rather have the pipeline fill up with cigarettes,'' he said.

Checked-by: Don Beck