Crime & Safety
Grand Jury Give Sheriff's High Marks for Managing Inmate Influx
The report details the San Diego County Sheriff's ability to deal with state prison realignment legislation Assembly Bill 109.
The Sheriff's Department is doing an "excellent" job of managing the increasing inmate population at San Diego County detention facilities due to a bill aimed at easing overcrowding at state prisons by sending low-level offenders to local jails, according to a grand jury report released today.
The implementation of Assemby Bill 109 -- signed into legislation in 2011 -- is having an impact on housing space, detainee populations and Sheriff's Department staffing at the facilities, increasing the number of offenders serving their sentences in local jails as well as their length of incarceration, the report says.
Since local detention facilities are approaching capacity, the grand jury recommended housing all inmates who are serving longer sentences, because of AB 109, at one facility. Doing so would concentrate rehabilitation and training programs for longer-duration inmates without requiring changes at every facility, according to the report.
The grand jury also commended the Sheriff's Department on construction of the Las Colinas detention facility for women. The grand jury recommended that when the lockup does open, it should be equipped with new computers and updated software.
