California's county jails struggle to house influx of state prisoners

Overcrowding forces the early release of some county jail inmates because of the so-called prisoner realignment. Another alternative is electronic monitoring of some low-level offenders.

by Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

December 10, 2011

The early release of inmates in some parts of California is accelerating as officials at county jails struggle to accommodate state prisoners flowing into their facilities.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department planned to begin releasing about 150 inmates Friday because of overcrowding in county jails.

Sheriff Rod Hoops has decided to release the inmates, mostly parole violators or those convicted of nonviolent crimes, over the next five days. The inmates must have served at least half of their sentence, and have less than 30 days remaining on their sentence.

The move is a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring the state to lower its prison population by 30,000. To meet the mandate, those convicted of certain crimes who until now served their sentences in state prison now must serve their time in a county jail. No inmates are being moved from state prisons to county jails. But as these people are sentenced, they will be sent to a county jail rather than state prison.

San Bernardino is believed to be the largest county to start early releases since the so-called prisoner realignment began. Kern County made a similar move last month.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is hoping to deal with the influx of state prisoners by developing alternatives to custody — such as electronic monitoring — for low-risk offenders awaiting trial.

L.A. County's jails are expected to house as many as 8,000 state prisoners by mid-2012. Los Angeles County prosecutors said in a report that the numbers could fill up the jails as early as this month.

But sheriff's officials said they don't expect capacity to be reached until summer at the earliest.

"I don't know what the turning point is going to be, but I don't think the sky is going to fall," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Chief Alex Yim. "We are looking for a measured amount of growth in the jail population. So we are ramping up programs like electronic monitoring and work release now."

Up until now, San Bernardino County managed to keep its jails from overcrowding through work release and other programs. But with the system rapidly approaching capacity, the sheriff opted to make more room for new arrestees and higher-priority inmates.

The parole violators being released will have their criminal and custody history examined, and they will be placed under the supervision of state parole officers.

Some counties, including Los Angeles, are under court order to prevent jail overcrowding. So officials said that some inmates will be released to make way for the state prisoners.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has warned that none of the alternatives are ideal. Hutchens said, for example, that she's unsure how many inmates can be trusted to serve time wearing GPS-monitored bracelets.

So far, some counties — including Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino — have reported receiving significantly more state prisoners from courts than the state projected.

State officials and some sheriffs believe the higher-than-projected number of state prisoners being sent to jails has occurred in part because defense attorneys waited until realignment took effect to settle their clients' cases. By doing that, the attorneys were assured that their clients would get jail time instead of prison time.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jails-20111210,0,3313581,print.story

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San Bernardino County begins releasing inmates early

San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops decided to release the inmates, mostly parole violators or those convicted of nonviolent crimes, over the next five days. The inmates have to have served at least half of their sentence, and have less than 30 days remaining on their sentence.

The move is a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring the state to lower its prison population by 30,000. To meet this mandate, inmates convicted of certain crimes who would have initially served their sentences in state prison now must serve their time in county jails.

Up until now, San Bernardino County managed to keep the jails from overcrowding through work-release and other programs. But with the system rapidly approaching capacity, the sheriff opted to make more room for new arrestees and higher priority inmates.

The parole violators being released will have their criminal and custody history examined, and they will be placed under the supervision of state parole officers.

Meanwhile, Southern California counties have reported seeing much higher numbers of state prisoners entering the local jails than officials had predicted, prompting local jurisdictions to speed up efforts to reopen shuttered jail wings and to find other arrangements for some inmates.

County jails are receiving extra state funding to help house the prisoners, but some doubt whether the money will be enough to avoid releasing some inmates. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said he is considering a plan to release some inmates who are awaiting trial and outfit them with electronic monitoring devices.

Other counties are also considering major expansions of house-arrest programs, as well as channeling some nonviolent inmates into mental health and substance abuse programs.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department has the funding to open an additional 1,800 beds, but the county is expected to take on 8,000 state prisoners in the next year, according to an internal report by the district attorney's office. The jails could reach capacity in December, the report found.

Some counties, including Los Angeles, are under court order preventing jail overcrowding. So officials said that some inmates will be released to make way for the state prisoners.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has warned that none of the alternatives are ideal. For example, she said, she's unsure how many inmates can be trusted to serve time wearing GPS-monitored bracelets.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/san-bernardino-county-begins-releasing-inmates-early-due-to-state-realignment-.html

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by MICHAEL GORMLEY

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Two New York lawmakers have called for a passenger advocate at airports to immediately act on complaints by passengers over security screenings.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris of Queens want the Transportation Security Administration to create the position at all airports.

The proposal to be released Sunday was prompted by an elderly woman's recent claims that she was strip searched by security officials at Kennedy Airport, which the TSA denies, saying it doesn't conduct strip searches. Others have since made similar claims.

The TSA said Saturday that it is planning its own advocacy service.

"The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) strives to provide the highest level of security while ensuring that all passengers are treated with dignity and respect," the agency stated Saturday night. "TSA has programs in place for the screening of people with all types of disabilities and medical conditions and their associated equipment."

TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said that last week senior leadership talked to several national groups that advocate for those with medical conditions, including colostomy bags. After the first claim, another woman reported she was stopped because of a bulge that was a colostomy bag.

Lee said that after consulting with advocates for those with various medical conditions, the TSA is planning to establish a toll-free telephone hotline in January for passengers that may need help during screening.

"This hotline will give passengers direct access to guidance and information specific to persons with disabilities or medical conditions, which they will be able to call prior to flying," the TSA stated. "Additionally, TSA regularly trains its workforce on how to screen travelers with disabilities and medical conditions and has customer service managers at most airports to answer questions and assist passengers."

Under the Schumer-Gianaris proposal, an advocate could be summoned in person by passengers if they feel they were inappropriately searched.

"While the safety and security of our flights must be a top priority, we need to make sure that flying does not become a fear-inducing, degrading, and potentially humiliating experience," Schumer said.

Gianaris and Schumer were scheduled to make the announcement Sunday with relatives of the women who made the claims.

"I appreciate the TSA's work to keep air passengers safe, but passengers should not be humiliated and degraded during their travels," Gianaris said.

A week ago, an 85-year-old woman said she was injured and humiliated when she was strip searched at the airport after she asked to be patted down instead of going through a body scanner, allegations that transportation officials denied.

Lenore Zimmerman said she was taken to a private room where she said female agents made her take off her pants and other clothes after she asked to forgo the screening. She had worried it would interfere with her defibrillator. She missed her flight and had to take one 2 1/2 hours later, she said.

But the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement Saturday no strip search was conducted.

"While we regret that the passenger feels she had an unpleasant screening experience, TSA does not include strip searches as part of our security protocols and one was not conducted in this case," the TSA stated.

"Private screening was requested by the passenger, it was granted and lasted approximately 11 minutes," the statement read. "TSA screening procedures are conducted in a manner designed to treat all passengers with dignity, respect and courtesy and that occurred in this instance."

The private screening wasn't recorded.

A review of closed-circuit television at the airport showed that proper procedures before and after the screening were followed, TSA spokesman Jonathan Allen said in a statement.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i5BvCn_yt8011DhfxgXQhu2cZ-vA?docId=ed8f906abacc4842bc5bcb6a44aeaa24

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