The Board of Supervisors Tuesday authorized Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff to acquire a 40-foot inmate transportation bus, outfitted with sophisticated camera gear and security mechanisms, for $650,656.
The board voted 5-0, without comment, to allow the sheriff to complete the purchase of the Motor Coach Industries vehicle for delivery in the current fiscal year.
According to sheriff’s officials, buses manufactured by Bluebird, Eagle and Thomas were also considered, but the MCI product offered the best options.
Officials were most impressed by a Federal Bureau of Prisons study that showed the rigs rolled out by MCI proved to be “the most durable and roadworthy … for critical long-haul type of transportation.”
“The sheriff’s department transports approximately 195,400 inmates annually,” according to a sheriff’s statement posted to the board’s policy agenda. “Destinations include state prisons throughout California, county detention facilities, local and state hospitals, courts and various daily transportation runs.”
The bus will be based at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, the first half of which is slated to open in July, following three years of construction.
The bus will contain a caged passenger compartment, multiple cameras, a first aid space, advanced communications gear and an elaborate diagnostics system that will permit the operators to identify and analyze mechanical issues in real-time.
The cost of the vehicle will be covered entirely by inmate booking fee revenue collected from municipal police departments that place their detainees in county lockups.