Keep Bailing

County officials throughout the state are voicing concern that their jails may soon reach capacity. Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County and Kern County are all in dire situations.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that approximately 30,000 inmates being housed at state facilities would need to be transferred to county prisons as a means of reducing overcrowding, reports NBC Los Angeles.  Last it was reported that Los Angeles County Jails could run out of room before the close of the year.  Riverside County has reported that they too are quickly running out of bed space and that county jails could reach capacity by January. At current, the Riverside County Jail is at 93% capacity.

Orange County Assistant Sheriff Mike James said that in October, they expected to receive 94 inmates but got 292 instead.  Those numbers, Sheriffs officials say, add up quickly.

Media outlets have further reported that a total of 50 Kern County parolees who had committed new offenses needed to be released due to overcrowding.  The Kern County Sheriff’s Department said they received 150 inmates in October, 30 more than the 120 they anticipated.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has said that for now, the funding to accommodate additional incarcerates is available due to increased funding from the state.