By Chris Meagher, Santa Barbara Independent – Thursday, September 22, 2011 The State of California, in an effort to alleviate its own crowded prisons and financial crisis, has shed responsibility for thousands of inmates, putting them in the hands of local jurisdictions to take care of. As a result of Governor Jerry Brown signing Assembly Bill 109 earlier this year, beginning October 1, Santa Barbara County will start to receive hundreds of low-level inmates and parolees from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, leaving a big question mark as to what effect those people headed back to the area will have on public safety. All incoming inmates committed crimes in Santa Barbara County and contributed one percent to the entire state prison population. When the plan is fully implemented by sometime next fall, officials anticipate gaining responsibility for an additional…[For full story: http://www.independent.com/news/2011/sep/22/sb-braces-inmate-influx/?print ]
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Santa Barbara County Braces for Inmate Influx – County Forced to Shoulder Hundreds of Convicts Coming from State Prison