CA County Jails and the Supreme Court

What Monday’s ruling means for local facilities in CA and what can be done

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state of California must reduce its state prison population by more than 33,000 inmates, to 110,000, citing persistent overcrowding as an infringement on 8^th Amendment rights.  Governor Jerry Brown vowed to comply with the ruling by moving forward with his plan of “realignment” which, in effect, will shift many nonviolent and low-level offenders to county and local jails.

Most of the conversation about the high court’s decision in Brown v. Plata will likely center around the circumstances that led up to California’s penal current untenable conditions.  But it is perhaps more important to consider what happens next, particularly on the local level.

Leaving aside the wider implications of the Supreme Court’s decision, California’s plan to address the mandate shines a bright spotlight on the local and county facilities that will be faced with an influx of inmates.  These facilities, generally operated by sheriff’s departments, will have to deal not only with increases in their resident populations, but also with potentially different varieties of offenders that may require different correctional approaches.  And of course, they will have to handle all of these changes under strained budgetary conditions.

It is also worth noting that the friends and family of inmates will be confronted with change as the “realignment” gets underway.  With offenders moving from one facility to another, the services available to their loved ones on the outside may not be the same.  The services that can be integral to successful rehabilitation, available at state prison facilities, may not yet exist at local and county jails.  Establishing continuity in this area should be a priority for the local facilities; family and friends accustomed to services at the state level will want the same services when their loved ones are realigned to local jails.

The California Department of Corrections, despite operating the state prison system at 180% of capacity, nonetheless provides many inmate services not in place at all local and county jails in California, including a comprehensive money transfer service facilitated by JPay.  The department also implements inmate service programs designed to keep operational costs in check, and contracts with companies (like JPay) that can help individual prisons achieve efficiencies.  Local facilities will have to consider similar measures if they hope to successfully navigate the new reality of California corrections.

Many local facilities in California already engage in these kinds of solutions; Marin County Jail, for instance, contracts with JPay to provide money transfer and eMessaging services to inmates.  Family and friends visiting Marin County Jail can also deposit funds into an inmate’s account using the JPay Lobby Kiosk. These kinds of services help keep inmates connected to their families and community support structures on the outside while simultaneously helping facilities reduce costs (by streamlining mail sorting and reducing the manpower needed to process money transfers).  For local and county facilities looking forward to increased populations and continued tight budgets, both of these outcomes are extremely desirable, if not outright necessary.

The State of California’s first-blush redressing of the Supreme Court’s order –  “realignment” – may not be the ideal solution, but it is one that county and local jails in the region must begin preparing for immediately.  This means taking step toward providing inmate services that address a heterogeneous and growing population’s needs (money transfer), lead to more effective re-entry (eMessaging and other communications services), and create efficiencies and reduce costs for the facility.

Change came to California’s state prisons via court order.  California’s jails need to be proactive in addressing the changes that are coming to them.