Supervisor Hilda Solis pulled back a motion to “decarcerate” and “depopulate” jails in L.A. County after hearing concerns from stakeholders.

Solis said Monday, she wanted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to use its “limited” power to allow the release of some inmates, but will now seek further input on how to improve the proposal.

“I introduced the motion as a way to strike a balance with both justice-involved advocates and public safety representatives,” Solis said in a statement. “Since the motion was published, my office has received concerns from a variety of stakeholders — those who feel the motion is not doing enough and those who feel it is doing too much. To that end, I will be referring the motion back to my office so that I can continue to gather input from all stakeholders.”

Some of the voices concerned with the motion were those of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys (LAADD), who called it a “catch-and-release program” with no benefits.

“The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ motion to gut parts of the criminal justice system without input from stakeholders is dangerous and reckless,” Vice President of the LAADD, Eric Siddall, said in a statement. “The authors sought no advice from those who know and understand public safety issues. The proposal sought to lower the jail population without addressing the root causes of crime or protecting the public. This catch-and-release program comes without any plan or infrastructure to protect the community from violent criminals apprehended by law enforcement. It creates no lockdown facilities for the mentally ill. It benefits no one except career criminals.”

Before Solis pulled back the motion, it was set to be discussed at the Board of Supervisors meeting, April 4.

As proposed, the motion could have given Los Angeles County Sheriff authority to use electronically monitor released individuals. It would have also reintroduced a zero dollar bail system, similar to the one implemented during the pandemic, in an attempt to prevent pre-trial detention.

The motion also proposed that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Sacramento take about 10% of the county’s jail population to prevent overcrowding.

Lastly, the motion called for change in California state law, allowing inmates who are “medically fragile” to gain eligibility for “compassionate release.”

“We must help balance the needs of public safety while also getting into compliance with our federal obligations,” Solis said. “And in that process, I ask that county departments and agencies help us with meeting the needs of our most vulnerable.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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