County Jails Maxed Out, Officials Say

Riverside County's jails are on the verge of reaching maximum capacity because of a state law requiring lower-level convicts to be housed in local detention facilities, instead of prison, to serve out their sentences, sheriff's officials said today.

The county's 3,906 jail beds are 99 percent occupied, and the resulting overflow of inmates will leave the Sheriff's Department little choice but to start releasing some offenders before their sentences are served, according to Chief Deputy Jerry Gutierrez.

Gutierrez, in a statement today, noted that the county's five jails now house 735 prisoners whose felony convictions met the criteria set by Assembly Bill 109.

The law states individuals convicted of crimes that fall into the non- violent, non-serious, non-sexually oriented category, and whose principal offense results in a sentence of three years or less, are to be incarcerated in county jails.

AB 109 led to a 20 percent jump over the last three months in the number of convicted felons being sentenced to time in county jail, sheriff's officials said.

Gutierrez said one-fifth of the low-level inmates serving time locally were sentenced to more than three years—with one inmate serving a 14-year sentence.

AB 109's amendments to the penal code did not differentiate between a principal offense and enhancements that add to a defendant's sentence, and the result is that felons can be sentenced to five, 10, 20 or more years in county jail, as long as their punishment is for the same "underlying offense," according to sheriff's officials.

The California State Association of Counties and other groups have urged the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown to modify the law that will rectify the problem.

The governor and various lawmakers pushed AB 109 as part of his "realignment" strategy, which involved shifting more state responsibilities onto counties. Supporters argued it would lead to greater efficiencies, but opponents countered that already burdened local resources would be stretched to the limit.

Gutierrez said a federal court order requires that every inmate in a local jail has a bed. To avoid overcrowding, sheriff's officials will have to exercise alternative measures, "such as electronic ankle bracelet monitoring, return parole violators to the supervision of parole, and early release of some lover-level inmates."

Compounding matters is AB 109's requirement that counties supervise non's on parole and prosecute them for parole violations, further taxing local resources, according to county officials.

The state has allocated the county $24 million in the current fiscal year to cover costs stemming from the new law. But most public safety officials don't believe that will be enough, and doubts linger as to whether adequate funding will be made available in the future given the state's unending budgetary red ink.

In March, the Board of Supervisors pulled the plug on plans for a new "hub jail" just west of Palm Springs, citing ballooning expenses and the county's tenuous financial condition as the primary reasons.

The proposed $300-million facility would have added 5,000 beds to the county's jail capacity over the next decade.

—Paul Young, City News Service