Many California county jails are dealing with the difficulty of inmate overcrowding inside their partitions. In Riverside County, this drawback is much more pronounced because the implementation of the state’s realignment plan. This plan sends inmates sentenced for non-violent crimes to county lockups to serve out their sentences as an alternative of state prisons. Earlier than the realignment plan, Riverside County was already coping with a larger-than-average inmate inhabitants compared to different counties. In 2010, Riverside County spent roughly $149 million greater than different counties to accommodate inmates.
Your entire county presently has lower than 4,000 beds to accommodate inmates unfold all through 5 jails. The jails are all operated by the Riverside County Sheriff. County officers for Riverside had developed plans to assemble a brand new jail close to Palm Springs, however these plans have been solid apart within the face of a lot opposition. The brand new jail would have added one other 7,200 beds to the county correctional system. That might improve the variety of obtainable beds almost threefold. With no new jail being constructed, consideration has turned to the potential of including on to an current jail in an effort to improve area and permit extra beds for inmates. The perfect candidate is the Indio Jail, which presently solely has 350 beds. Officers have determined to make plans that can improve the inmate capability of the Indio Jail by 1,250. It will permit for 1,600 inmates to be housed at anyone time.
Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff helps the plan to extend the jail however says that it’ll nonetheless not be sufficient to fulfill the wants of the county. He estimates that the county corrections system wants so as to add one other 4,000 beds in an effort to keep away from a extreme overcrowding subject. Because the realignment plan took impact, Riverside County has had a rise of over 200 inmates a month in its jails. If this sample continues, it won’t be shocking to see overcrowded circumstances inside every of the county’s 5 jails. Efforts might be made so as to add as a lot area as attainable all through the jail system to assist accommodate the inflow of inmates that can proceed to come back. With jail overcrowding turning into a chance day by day in Riverside County jails, it’s time to begin taking a look at different options to incarceration for non-violent offenders. These embrace GPS monitoring and work launch applications. One other focus might be on rehabilitation applications that may assist lower the recidivism fee.
