March 28, 2011
San Francisco, Peninsula jails brace for extra inmates
Jails and probation departments in San Francisco and San Mateo counties could be responsible for hundreds of new low-level offenders — and potentially significant new costs — under a state plan to shift some convicts to local governments, officials said.
While the state would still incarcerate violent and high-risk offenders, Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to send most criminals who are not sex offenders and who committed nonviolent or nonserious crimes, such as drug and property crimes, to county jails and probation departments instead of state prison and parole.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office estimates it would obtain an extra 400 inmates per year, or about 33 per month, with few places to put them. The county’s jails are rated for 843 beds but currently house about 1,000 inmates, and a new 748-bed facility to relieve overcrowding is still in the planning stages...
LINK - SFExaminer.com
