An Inland Empire lawmaker's bill, aimed at easing overcrowding in local jails by requiring that inmates serving sentences of three or more years automatically go to prison, was voted down in a Senate committee last week.

Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Riverside, introduced Senate Bill 1441 with the intent of amending legislation signed into law a year ago by Gov. Jerry Brown that allowed convicted felons to be sentenced to multiple years in counties' detention facilities, whereas before anyone sentenced to more than a year behind bars went to the penitentiary...

The one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that California would have to lower the number of inmates in its overcrowded 33-prison system comes in May.

So where are we? The prison population has dropped dramatically -- by 22,000 inmates. The triple bunks in gymnasiums, dayrooms and other areas are gone. Most prisons are noticeably quieter and less violent.

The finality of the U.S. Supreme Court decision provided focus for all parties to get on with the task of reducing the state's prison population...

Following inspections of one of Vacaville's prisons, the Solano County grand jury reported Wednesday that more could be done to combat the issues of inmate cell phone use, high overtime costs and the lack of recreation equipment.

The report of California State Prison-Solano was based on two separate visits to the prison in September and November and was part of the grand jury's responsibility to inspect the condition and management of the county's prisons.

During the grand jury's visit to the medium-security prison in September, it was reportedly operating at 144 percent of its capacity, with a total of 5,200 Level II and higher-risk Level III inmates...

California prison ‘realignment’ reduces population at the site, will result in job cuts over time

Fewer prisoners are being sent to the California Men’s Colony, and the institution expects to lose 200 additional custodial and noncustodial jobs over time, according to a report from the San Luis Obispo County civil grand jury.

State law requires the county to assess the state of the prison annually, and this year grand jurors have done so in the wake of the state’s so-called “realignment,” under which county governments have received responsibility for managing and supervising certain offenders who previously were sent to state prison or paroled...

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said, up to this point, realignment is being achieved without a serious compromise to public safety.

"Unfortunately, the major consequence of AB109 is that there will be people out on the street that shouldn't be there and in the past would have been in custody," Ramsey said.

The Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation claims offenders who now qualify for local jail or treatment under AB109 are already being arrested for new felonies, including violent crimes. The new law prevents criminals whose most recent conviction is for one of a host of theft- or drug-related felonies from being sentenced to state prison...

The children playing and laughing in the backyard next door couldn't see it, but police officers had forced open a safe in their Woodland Hills neighbor's garage and found a collection of guns and rifles.

The team led by LAPD Sgt. Jeff Nuttall had gone to the home to check on Byrone London, who had recently served a prison sentence for obstructing and resisting arrest.

London was supposed to stay away from weapons and drugs or risk ending up back behind bars. But here he was, living in a relative's house where firearms were stored and, officers believe, facing a risk of abusing drugs again...

The Solano Reentry Council will hold its next quarterly general meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday.

The meeting will be held at the County Events Center, 601 Texas Street in Fairfield and is open to the public.

The meeting will focus on homelessness and the criminal justice system. The featured presenter will be Zack Olmstead, homeless policy advocate at Housing California. Olmstead advocates for policy reform to prevent and end homelessness and coordinates the efforts of homeless advocacy partners throughout the state...

The Glendale Police Department has redirected $650,000 to deal with parolees and individuals on probation since the state-mandated release of some prison inmates began two years ago, officials said this week.

The department’s Special Enforcement Detail has been fully dedicated to monitoring former inmates and identifying related crime trends. That’s a far cry from the detail’s original duties of preventive patrolling, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said...

The jury is still out on whether Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's plan to alleviate crowding at the state's prisons will work for local governments as well as the state.

Under what Brown describes as "realignment," thousands of offenders who might previously have ended up in state prison are being placed in county jails or other programs in order to meet a mandated June 2013 deadline for reducing the prison population by 30,000...

A state assembly bill intended to alleviate California’s fiscal burden of housing prison inmates has created a new, sub-class of criminal that has the potential to overwhelm law enforcement agencies if the law is implemented without promise of proper funding.

During an April 5 panel held at Mountain View Middle School in Beaumont, several participants discussed the implications of Assembly Bill 109, which essentially stipulated the transfer of criminals from state prison back to their home communities, starting back in October 2011. County jails are being forced to make room for more inmates due to the fact that state prisons will no longer be accepting inmates for misdemeanors and “lesser” offenses — by releasing some of their own inmates...