Santa Cruz County Jail is preparing for some 120 new prisoners over the course of next year, the result of AB 109, which calls for the relocation of some 30,000 prisoners from state facilities to county jails. Chief Deputy Jim Hart of the Corrections Bureau says that the new prisoners will be “direct referrals from the court system who are non-violent, non-sex cases, and non serious cases.” To make room for the prisoners, another 50 to 80 low-level offenders will be released on parole or to electronic monitoring and house arrest.
Santa Cruz County Jail is preparing for some 120 new prisoners over the course of next year, the result of AB 109, which calls for the relocation of some 30,000 prisoners from state facilities to county jails. Chief Deputy Jim Hart of the Corrections Bureau says that the new prisoners will be “direct referrals from the court system who are non-violent, non-sex cases, and non serious cases.” To make room for the prisoners, another 50 to 80 low-level offenders will be released on parole or to electronic monitoring and house arrest.
The major concern that law enforcement has is the high recidivism rate among early releases. Hart expects about two-thirds of the prisoners to end up back in jail within 18 months of their release. On the other hand, money from AB 109 is being used to bolster community and treatment programs intended to help the newly released inmates. Read more at KION.
