San Bernardino County Ranks 11th in Prison Rates

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PST

San Bernardino County locks people up at a higher rate than all but ten counties in the United States, and ranks third-highest in California according to a new study from the Justice Policy Institute.

277 people in the county were jailed for every 100,000 in 2006. That's a 40 percent increase since 1996 according to "Jailing Communities: The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective Public Safety" - a study by the Washington, D.C. Institute, a criminal justice think tank.

County officials say the rise in county bookings could be more like 50 percent with the meteoric rise in jailing illegal immigrants. "Since the 1970s we've had an increased desire to punish," said co-author Amanda Petteruti.

The study looks at the number people detained in jails, locally run facilities that traditionally hold people with short sentences or people awaiting trail who were either denied bail or could not post it.
In the past two decades, the number of people sent to county jails nationwide has nearly doubled resulting in huge bills for local municipalities, increasingly forced to commit bigger chunks of their budgets to deal with bulging holding cells.

Petteruti cited a number of factors including jailing illegal immigrants, rising bail costs and more people being detained on minor infractions, more people being held pretrial or sent to county facilities due to overcrowded prisons.

County supervisors say the findings demonstrate the costly impact of jailing illegal immigrants.
"Our County jailed more than 4,000 illegal aliens last year alone," said Board Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane who alone with Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt are seeking federal reimbursement for costs incurred by the County by incarcerating inmates who are in the U.S. illegally.

Mitzelfelt said illegal immigrants were incarcerated for an average of more than 120 days each, which cost the county approximately $24 million.

"San Bernardino taxpayers shouldn't have to shoulder that burden," he said.

The federal government reimburses counties for jailing illegal immigrants with funding provided through the State Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). However, federal reimbursement received for last year was only $591,155. The County is requesting full reimbursement of costs.

The study found that the number of inmates booked into the County jail rose from 3,958 in 1996 to 5,533 in 2006.

Baine said the board has taken several steps to ease jail population to include handing over illegal immigrants to federal agents and citing and releasing offenders with low bails.

But Bob Paige spokesman for Supervisor Josie Gonzales cautioned that the Institute's findings may not have taken into consideration the county's Adelanto Detention Center which opened January 2006.

"Historically non violent offenders were cited and released because of serious over crowding. With the Adelanto Detention Center on line many of those beds are filled to capacity with illegal immigrants considered flight risks which could account for the spike in overall inmate population," said Paige.

The study also blames poor drug enforcement policies for the dramatic rise in inmate population. It said that more inmates are being held in jail for longer amounts of time before trial.

Nationally, a quarter of the people jailed in 2002 faced drug charges, according to the study, a stark contrast from 1983, when about 9 percent of jail inmates faced drug charges.

Another reason that the report gives for more jail inmates is the rise in "broken windows" policing, which cracks down on smaller infractions and quality of life crimes to try to lower overall crime rates.
In Los Angeles for example which has the most people in jail with just over 19,000, police are issuing tickets to the homeless on skid row for infractions like jaywalking, she said. "When these people fail to pay they go to jail. They get a warm bed, food and healthcare at a huge taxpayer expense."

Petteruti said counties are spending more money on inmate incarceration and less on schools and healthcare. "In California thousands of teachers are threatened with job layoffs, while budgets for county jails are exploding."

If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, call the Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Bullard to help prevent becoming just another statistic.

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PST

What is the difference between a GOOD lawyer and a GREAT lawyer?

A GOOD lawyer knows the law.....and a GREAT lawyer knows the Judge.

Hire an attorney who knows your local courts and the court personnel like Attorney Jeff Bullard.

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 PST

A doctor and a lawyer got into a car accident, on a small country road. The lawyer had figured that nobody else would be on the road, and had raced through a stop sign. The doctor, on a cross street, had no time to react and couldn't have missed the lawyer if he had tried. Fortunately, neither driver was hurt. The lawyer, seeing that the doctor was a little shaken up, helped him from his battered car and offered him a drink from a hip flask.The doctor accepted, took a deep drink, and handed the flask back to the lawyer. The lawyer held the flask for a minute or two, and gave it to the doctor again. The doctor took another swig. He again returned the flask to the lawyer, who closed it and put it away. "Aren't you going to have a drink yourself?" asked the doctor. "Not now," answered the lawyer. "I'll have something after the police leave."

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 PST

A lawyer's dog, running around town unleashed, heads for a butcher shop and steals a roast. The butcher goes to the lawyer's office and asks, "if a dog running unleashed steals a piece of meat from my store, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog's owner?" The lawyer answers, "Absolutely." "Then you owe me $8.50. Your dog was loose and stole a roast from me today." The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for $8.50. The butcher, having a feeling of satisfaction, leaves. Three days later, the butcher finds a bill from the lawyer: $100 due for a consultation.

*The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Bullard offers a FREE initial CONSULTATION!

Call Toll Free: (866) 463-8885

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 00:00:00 PST

A lawyer was on vacation in a small farming town. While walking through the streets on a quiet Sunday morning, he came upon a large crowd gathered by the side of the road. Going by instinct, the lawyer figured that there was some sort of auto collision. He was eager to get to the injured parties but couldn't get near the car. Being a clever sort, he started shouting loudly, "Let me through! Let me through! I am the son of the victim."
The crowd made way for him. Lying in front of the car was a donkey.

New Law Makes it Harder to Expunge Your Record

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 PST

In only two months, Assembly Bill 645 will make it more difficult to expunge certain offenses on your criminal record. Currently, if you have successfully completed all terms of probation, for most offenses a Judge MUST grant your request for an expungement. Starting January 1, 2008, certain offenses such as Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol and Reckless Driving will no longer be able to be expunged as a matter of right. After the new year, you must convince the Judge that the expungement is "in the interest of justice" which means the Judge does NOT HAVE to grant your request for an expungement. If you have a DUI or other alcohol related driving offense, you need to apply for an expungement BEFORE the January 1, 2008 deadline or risk having a permanent criminal record. Call Toll Free (866) 463-8885 for a free consultation.

New Office Locations

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 PST

The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Bullard now has three (3) office locations to better serve our client's needs. We now have offices in San Bernardino, Santa Ana, and Riverside. If you have been charged with a crime in San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, or Los Angeles County, call and speak to an attorney who knows your local courts.

Website Launch

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 PST

The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Bullard Law is proud to announce it's official website launch. Feel free to peruse this site for helpful information about criminal law and check back often for updates and new content. Thank you for visiting us online.

Recent news from The Law Offices of Jeff Bullard

San Bernardino County Ranks 11th in Prison Rates

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Lawyer Joke of the Week

Lawyer Joke of the Week

New Law Makes it Harder to Expunge Your Record

New Office Locations

Website Launch