Sacramento’s Reckless Proposals: A Sheriff’s Perspective on Slashing Prison Budgets

As Sheriff of Riverside County, I manage one of the largest office’s in the state.  We are entrusted with the safety and security of our county and each of its diverse communities.  Public safety should be a top priority at the state level, as well.  The reality is that without a working partnership between counties and the state, public safety is compromised.   

That is why it is important to speak out against things like Sacramento’s latest budget proposals. The Governor’s proposal would slash $80 million from the state prisons and reduce our prison capacity by roughly 4,600 beds. The Legislature’s counter is even worse. If Legislative Democrats have their way, they’ll cut more than $1 billion from the state corrections’ budget. 

These two proposals completely disregard public safety, and will further place an unfair burden on our counties.

California has been grappling with prison overcrowding for years. Instead of finding sustainable solutions like building additional prisons, the state has offloaded its responsibilities onto the counties. The 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109) was a seismic shift that transferred tens of thousands of inmates from state prisons to county jails. While intended to reduce state prison populations and address overcrowding, this move ignored a critical fact: county jails were never designed to house long-term, violent, and dangerous felons.

Sacramento’s competing proposals to impose massive cuts on the state corrections department does not decrease the number of prisoners; it simply shifts them to county facilities, which are already straining under the weight of the previous realignment.  This creates numerous problems.  

County jails are meant for short-term detention, not for housing inmates serving lengthy sentences for serious crimes. When violent offenders are housed in facilities lacking the resources and security measures of state prisons, the risk of escapes, assaults on staff, and inmate violence skyrockets. County jail staff are often under-resourced to handle the complexities of long-term, high-risk inmates, leading to dangerous conditions for both inmates and correctional deputies.

Moreover, this shift exacerbates the strain on local resources. Counties are already struggling to meet the demands of their communities. With additional inmates, the financial and logistical pressures become insurmountable. Local taxpayers bear the brunt of increased costs for healthcare, security, and facility maintenance, diverting funds from other critical public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Sacramento’s plans also overlook the rehabilitative aspect of incarceration. State prisons have programs specifically designed to reduce recidivism and aid in the rehabilitation of inmates. While County jails have had to innovate and create rehabilitative programs over the past ten years, local budgets do not allow for the same type of programs that state prisons can offer. This imbalance between the systems leads to higher rates of recidivism and, ultimately, a more significant burden on the criminal justice system.

The Democrats’ two proposals are a clear example of penny-wise, pound-foolish governance. Crime has been rising in California for years, with adverse effects that we are feeling everywhere in the state.  Now is not the time to cut corners on public safety.