Mirroring a state trend, thousands jailed in Inland facilities are being freed before their sentence expires, audit shows
After California began sending lower-level offenders to local jails instead of state prisons, statistics show.Riverside County's percentage increase in the monthly early release of inmates when jails reached capacity was 10 times the state rate.
Mirroring a state trend, Inland counties are still freeing hundreds of inmates early each month after a California plan was implemented in 2011 to send lower-level offenders to county lockups instead of state prisons – and local officials are still concerned about the effect on public safety and the jails themselves.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
But a state board believes those rates have peaked, thanks in part to Proposition 47, which reduced some felonies to misdemeanors.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In its report Tuesday, the state auditor found that county jails statewide released 37 percent more inmates in June 2014 than they did in September 2011, just before Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan – known as realignment – kicked in. June 2014 is the most recent month for which data were available.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In the Inland region, Riverside County released 204 inmates early in January 2012 and 973 in June 2014 – a 376 percent increase. The county released more than 1,000 inmates in each of four other months of 2014, state statistics show.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
And San Bernardino County, according to state statistics, released 2,575 inmates in December 2011 and 3,510 in June 2014 – a 36.3 percent increase.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The state auditor did offer good news. It praised the Board of State and Community Corrections for doing a better job of collecting information about inmates that counties can use to make criminal justice decisions. The board has published county-by-county reports on arrests, crimes and demographics, and is sharing data on how counties deal with realignment.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
The board was set up to oversee Brown’s realignment plan, which in late 2011 shifted responsibility for nonviolent, nonsexual and less serious crimes to county jails to reduce the strain on crowded state prisons.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
That shift caused Inland jails to reach their capacity and to begin releasing inmates who had already been sentenced and inmates whose cases had not been resolved.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
A spokeswoman with the Board of State and Community Corrections said those rates likely peaked in June 2014 now that fewer criminals are serving time under Prop. 47, which voters approved in November.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Scott Collins attributed the low initial number of released inmates to a slow buildup as cases brought following the introduction of realignment wound their way through the criminal justice system.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“It took a couple of years to see those large numbers,” Collins said. He said the county has had a total of 28,300 early releases.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“Our opinion hasn’t changed: There is an impact to public safety. AB109 (realignment) has forced our county to release inmates back to society before the end of their sentences. That is a clear danger to public safety. We are trying to release the best of the worst,” Collins said.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
San Bernardino County’s jails are still feeling the effects of realignment, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“Realignment has impacted the Corrections Bureau with respect to inmate population management, health care services, inmate worker workforce, and associated housing costs for keeping these inmates for a much longer period of time,” Miller wrote in an email. “The department is also housing a more violent and criminally sophisticated inmate population.”googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Prop. 47 also allowed defendants facing trial to be rearraigned and inmates to be resentenced. As a result, some criminals are being cited instead of being booked into jail, and other criminals are spending less time in jail. googleoff: allgoogleon: all
But there have not been significant changes to Inland jail populations. Riverside County is expanding two jails to keep up with the need. And San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon has said that any available beds are being used to keep inmates who might have been released early to prevent overcrowding.
PUNISHMENT AND CRIME
Riverside County
Incarceration rate changes
(Per 100,000 residents)
State prison
2007: 537
2014: 439
Percentage change: -18%
County jails
2007: 181
2014: 172
Percentage change: -5%
Violent crime rate
(Per 100,000 residents)
2007: 452
2013: 270
Percentage change: -40%
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San Bernardino County
Incarceration rate changes
(Per 100,000 residents)
State prison
2007: 623
2014: 426
Percentage change: -32%
County jails
2007: 276
2014: 276
Percentage change: 0%
Violent crime rate
(Per 100,000 residents)
2007: 515
2013: 403
Percentage change: -22%
SOURCE: Board of State and Community Corrections