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| Butte County Jail crowded; prisoner realignment shifts 110 to county lockup |
| By chicoer.com - KATY SWEENY |
| Published: 12/13/2011 |
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OROVILLE CA — Officers struggle every day with crowding in the Butte County Jail since the prisoner realignment. Staff has to determine who needs to be in custody and who can reasonably be put into alternative custody programs to prevent the jail from overcrowding, Undersheriff Kory Honea said. "The primary concern for us is public safety," Honea said. A law that took effect Oct. 1 shifts responsibility for thousands of lower-level criminals from the state to local jurisdictions. Judges no longer can send offenders to state prison for crimes such as auto theft, burglary, grand theft and drug possession for sale. Non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual felons, called "the nons," are instead sentenced to the county lockup. Parole violators who previously would have been returned to state prison now can only be incarcerated in county jails. The law was driven by the state's budget deficit and a federal court order, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, requiring California to reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates as a way to improve medical care. Sgt. Dave O'Hair said "things just got crazy" Oct. 1 when "the nons" and parolees were coming into the jail rather than prison. The Butte County Jail has 614 beds but officers try to cap it at 590 to allow for new inmates and to move people, such as those with a propensity of violence toward other inmates, Honea said. On Thursday, 581 inmates were in the jail but on other days it has surpassed its cap to 600 inmates. "Our goal is always to have space in the jail for people who pose a risk to public safety," Honea said. The jail housed 110 inmates on Thursday who would have been sent to prison before the law took effect, 45 people who violated parole and 65 "nons," he said. Before the realignment, the jail typically housed about 550 inmates daily, Honea said. The Butte County Jail operates under a lawsuit settlement that sets forth rights for inmates, including that it does not surpass capacity, he said. When inmates are released into alternative custody programs, some are put on GPS ankle bracelets, some are required to report daily and others enter work programs, he said. "Ultimately these folks need to get out and become productive members of society," Honea said. "It helps them to be employed." The inmates are assessed on criminal history, current charges, gang affiliations and more, Honea said. Lower-risk offenders can be put on radio frequency ankle bracelets that show when the person is within range of the receiver unit at their home, Lt. Jeff Hayes said. The alternative custody program offers programs Honea hopes will reduce the risk of recidivism, he said. The day reporting center will house assistance to combat alcohol and drug abuse, for GED certificate preparation and training for jobs and life skills. "We're trying to get everything in one location to have the best possible chance of putting people on a track that will keep them from re-offending," Honea said. In other parts of the state, some counties have seen a higher-than-expected influx of inmates causing local law enforcement agencies to struggle to contain criminals with a history of violence, substance abuse and mental illness who previously would have been tucked away in state prisons. Los Angeles County had said its more than 22,000 jail beds could be full by Christmas, according to the Associated Press, although officials now have pushed the projection back by several months. Officials in the state's most populous county are eying early release of less serious offenders and considering alternatives to jail. Read More. |
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