The primary mission of the Conservation Camp program is to provide agencies with an able-bodied, trained work force for fire suppression and other emergencies such as floods and earthquakes.

According to statistics provided by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in an average year, Conservation Camp Program inmates provide approximately three million person hours in firefighting and other emergencies and save California taxpayers more than $80 million annually, on average.

The challenge lies in that many county jails, such as Los Angeles jails and San Diego jails, are releasing these low-level offenders early due to overcrowding. Some lawmakers are now questioning if there will be enough eligible inmates to volunteer for these types of positions.

The state has been utilizing these types of inmates to help fight wildfires since World War II.  In a Dec. 24 article by the LA Times, it was pointed out that prisoners who “exhibit ideal behavior in custody” could be “as much as half the manpower assigned to a large fire”. After 2013, inmate fire crews could be reduced by as much as 40%.

Some Sheriff’s have suggested that these types of inmates could be released and monitored with GPS ankle bracelets, but some question whether they’d come back to volunteer to serve on fire crews if they’re not still in custody.

Lawmakers, law enforcement and fire officials have said they will continue to work toward a solution. For now, however, the dollars-and-cents of dwindling budgets and lack of bed-space due to overcrowding still need to be worked out.

At current, the state has approximately $603 million available to provide to counties as a means of extending jail-bed space.

Funding recipients will be announced in March. The DOC has already provided $617 million to 11 counties thus far to add 5,000 beds throughout the state.

The new blog goes along with the redsign of our “sister” website for Tonya Page Bail Bonds. The intention of the Family Bail Blog is educate the public as to how bail works, what to expect as they go through the bail process, how the jail system works, how bail bonds can be paid, what are the benefits of bail and so on. It will feature information that is helpful to those needing California bail bonds or simply curious about “How Bail Works”. We will also provide extensive information about Southern California jails.

If you have Questions about bail bonds, check out “Ask the Bondsman” on the Family Bail Blog.

If you’d like to visit an inmate at the Elmwood Jail in Santa Clara County, you may have to wait for quite a long while. A new concern over Swine Flu now has officials locking the doors and turning visitors away.

Although this ban of visitors affects approximately 20 percent of the inmates in Santa Clara County, it’s stated that only four inmates have  actually come down with the flu-like symptoms.

However, since the first person has become ill,  approximately 50 more inmates  have begun to show signs of low grade fevers, according to jail medical staff.  As of Friday, the ban was widened. There is now a ban on visitors to the Milpitas jail all together.  This shut out of visitors will effect about 3,000 men and women which is almost the county’s total jail population. 

At least 7,000 visitors per month cross the threshold of the Elmwood mens jail alone. Officials believe it’s best to be prudent in these times, as approximately 92 people are believed to have died in California.  Nine of them are reported to have succumbed to the virus in the Santa Clara County alone.

As noted in our previous posts about H1N1,  Swine Flu break outs in San Diego, quarantine at the Orange County Jail, jails seem to be a place where an epidemic is just waiting to happen, as several people are forced to be in close quarters together where the virus can spread easily. In the interest of public safety, it’s probably better to be safe than sorry.

Take almost 7,000 square feet of luxurious real estate, add a gorgeous ocean view, sprawling green lawn, chef’s kitchen, ample parking and what do you have? Instant wedding venue and an ecstatic brides’ dream location, right?

Sounds great, but not so fast there you blooming wedding planners.  In order to use a house as a wedding location, you must have a city permit. There are noise ordinances and time frames you must adhere to, your business licensing must be current and finally, you must have the blessing of  thy neighbors.

This was not the case of  Melahat Uzumcu and her mansion aka instant wedding location in the Palos Verdes Estates.  Actually, she had zip. Nada. Now, she’s facing steep fines and up to two years in jail for her egregious ways.  Uzumcu faces charges of violating city zoning laws, conducting business without a license and creating a public nuisance. Not only that, she was just plain rubbing her neighbors the wrong way.

All savvy wedding planners know, (especially for high profile locations which accommodate hundreds of guests), you’d need to plan for: large equipment trucks driving in and out of the neighborhood, DJ’s testing their mics and speakers, photographers flashing, videographers interviewing, a small army of servers and caterers shouting orders, valet’s directing traffic, high elevation decor, tenting, lighting, and the minutiae of  busy work from sun-up to sun-down. People could literally be hanging around the venue for days, even weeks prior to, and following the event.

Come to find out, the city even issued a code enforcement violation to her on July 21st, however the events seemed to continue. Greg Robinson of the Palos Verdes Police Department stated “the Uzumcu estate has been the subject of 18 noise complaints just since July.”

If you’re getting ready to plan a fabulous wedding, find a reputable, certified event planner who will take care of all the details. They will make sure your location is permitted and help to keep your day complaint free.  Cheers!

The idea is to slowly transfer the current deputies out to patrol the city and slowly train and hire civilians to take there place. Ultimately there will be a deputy or sergeant that oversees the civilian workers. This strategy is already been in place in many other cities including Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Newport Beach. This movement of the current deputies will allow them to keep their jobs as they will end up patrolling the city when a civilian becomes capable (trained) to take their place. The first civilians are set to arrive for duty by January 2010.

The Orange County Jail has had allegations ongoing for quite some time, but now things have stepped up with the justice department getting involved. One of the latest cases was most likely broke the straw that broke the camel’s back and caused the increase in interest. A deputy at the Theo Lacy Jail allegedly told some prisoners that another inmate was there because of child molestation, which was not accurate. The inmate was killed.

Its bad enough that these inmates have created wrongdoings to get them placed in jail in the first place, but allowing and adding to the problem should not be the objective of the deputies policing the jail. Federal Civil Rights of Institutional Persons Act protects all inmates from such behavior.

During their search the detectives of Martine Police found a cache of bomb making equipement: gun powder, BB’s, fuse cord, metal and plastic housings and a couple handmade bombs.  The Walnut Creek Police department was called in to remove the bomb making equipment and Davis was quickly arrested for several charges for the bomb making and of course for the possession of narcotics.

You never know what your going to find when searching a house full of marijuana plants.

Throughout California, swine flu is effecting jail populations. Last week, we reported quarantines at San Diego jails and swine flu outbreaks at Los Angeles County jails. 

On Tuesday, an Orange County Superior Court Judge ruled that there is legal justification to keep the Orange County Jail under quarantine to control the outbreak of swine flu at that jail.

So far 25 inmates at the Orange County Central Men’s jail have the swine flu and are being isolated within the jail. Due to the incubation period for the disease, more cases might be looming, another reason to lock down the jail until the flu can be brought under control. The jail normally houses around 800 inmates. A lot of them are presently involved in court proceedings. Therefore, locking down the jail could cause a lot of problems within the court system. But Judge Thomas Goethals seesthat there is enough of a health problem with the jail and will move forward with the quarantine.

For now, some of the Superior Court Judges are just going to have to be patient and at times, sit around and wait until they have a case placed in front of them that don’t involve inmates from the Central Jail.

It’s argued by some that Sheriff Margaret Mims was in violation of the law when she released 72 inmates from jail early due to overcrowding at a Fresno Jail facility. The city argued that there were enough beds for the inmates.

Sheriff Mims was doing what a Federal decree said she could do: release inmates early when the jail had reached its capacity. However, Fresno County officials disagree and the city has launched a lawsuit. The battle between Mims and the Fresno Police Department is ongoing.

Fresno is not alone in early release. Early release is common across the state of California in order to reduce overcrowding and to save taxpayer money.  A 2006 report entitled Jail Overcrowding: A State and Local Crisis, indicated Sonoma, Riverside, Calavaras, Solana, Merced, Los Angeles Counties had significant overcrowding problems and used programs for early release of convicted felons. Since then, Orange County has followed suit.

The report, posted by the California State Sheriff’s Association states:

This story is repeated in county after county. The jail overcrowding/early release trend must not be allowed to continue. Revolving door justice is making a mockery of the California public safety system.

Unfortunately, the current economic picture has not improved the system and Counties across California. Many have been contemplatingclosing jails. This does not bode well for public safety.