Major changes are coming for county jails due to changes in how California will house inmates to relieve overcrowding.
To handle those changes, county supervisors will consider a plan of action Tuesday.
The feeling among county officials is that the state is basically taking its problem and just dumping it on the county. One of the biggest concerns is that some prisoners may be let out early in order to make room.
Under State Assembly Bill 109, thousands of state prisoners will be gradually turned over to counties. It will then be up to the counties to either find a bed for them or let them go.
In San Diego, there are about 800 available beds for an estimated 2000 prisoners that will be transferred over time. So, under the plan discussed Tuesday, the county is going to assess which prisoners are low-risk, non-violent offenders and release them into other programs like home detention, drug rehab programs and fire camps.
While the county does not have a choice in this, some of the supervisors clearly have concerns.
“There’s not going to be hundreds of people on the streets that don’t belong there. There’s going to be thousands of people on the streets of California that don’t belong there that rightfully shouldn’t be there. They should be in jail. This is a huge step backwards,” said Rob Roberts, county supervisor in the fourth district.
While the supervisors say they believe the county can do a better job than the state rehabilitating prisoners, they say they're worried about the cost.
Governor Brown promised the programs would be fully funded, but the board said today, they're still waiting on the check.
The transfer of prisoners will begin Saturday.
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