On Friday, SantaCruz.com reported how Santa Cruz County Jail is preparing for about 120 new prisoners to be transferred there from state prisons over the course of next year and the release of 50 to 80 low-risk prisoners. This shuffling around of the state’s prison population is the direct result of AB 109. Yet while it may reduce overcrowding in state prisons, it is posing serious problems to local authorities, and not just because of the anticipated recidivism rate among early releases.
On Friday, SantaCruz.com.html reported how Santa Cruz County Jail is preparing for about 120 new prisoners to be transferred there from state prisons over the course of next year and the release of 50 to 80 low-risk prisoners. This shuffling around of the state’s prison population is the direct result of AB 109. Yet while it may reduce overcrowding in state prisons, it is posing serious problems to local authorities, and not just because of the anticipated recidivism rate among early releases.
For one thing, the county jail is already overcrowded. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that officially its maximum capacity is 311 prisoners, but this is routinely ignored. Just two weeks ago, the “official” number was exceeded by well over 100 prisoners. Some of the one-person cells already have triple bunk beds in them, and even with that, there isn’t always enough room. Yet under AB 109, the prison could see its average population boosted by 78 new inmates.
The new releases could also pose a problem for already strained parole officers and monitors of people under house arrest. Under AB 109, the county will receive just under $500,000 to expand its custody alternatives program. Sheriff Wowak has already said that the money will be used to hire three new corrections officers along with two support staff. The problem is that this money is intended to ease the transition and only scheduled to last for nine months. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
