San Diego Jails are near total capacity. Just last week the San Diego County Sheriff’s jail snapshot reportedly showed the women’s jail at over 99% capacity and then men’s jails well over 90%.
Last year’s top-to-bottom revision of felony sentencing laws (“realignment”) is responsible for the ever-increasing inmate population. Thousands of inmates are being diverted to county jails where they formerly would have been sentenced to state prison. As a consequence, virtually every county in California is struggling with the swelling local inmate population. The overcrowding crisis is certain to get worse unless dramatic action is taken to promote programs designed to ease overcrowding. San Diego County has responded by approving an expansion of the Sheriff’s work furlough program and the Probation Department’s electronic surveillance program (house arrest). Participant guidelines have been reformulated and distributed to all the players in the court system – the judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Inmates are now eligible for electronic supervision in lieu of bail and in lieu of custody, and the Sheriff can decide to cut most low risk inmates free from jail to house arrest, unless prohibited by the sentencing judge. In the end, it will be up to defense lawyers to become familiar with the participant guidelines and to aggressively advocate for these programs where it may be advantageous to their clients.
Contact us for advice on alternatives to jail.
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