As in many counties in California, jail overcrowding has been a substantial public safety concern for several decades in Santa Barbara County.
Since 1986, the county has been under court order to limit jail populations and the impacts of overcrowding. A major solution to this problem—a North County jail facility—is currently in the works. And now Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown is recommending to county officials another option: The creation of two parolee day reporting centers.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 16, Brown presented a report detailing key components of the project, including funding sources, services provided, and positive impacts to the community.
According to Brown, the Sheriff’s Department has been negotiating a financial contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish two parolee reporting centers in the county. The centers—one in the north, one in the south—will provide essential rehabilitative services to state prison parolees released into Santa Barbara County.
“[Reporting centers] provide services that target the factors that contribute to criminal behavior,” Cmndr. Thomas Jenkins, who is involved with the project, said in an e-mail to the Sun.
Jenkins added that studies have shown correctional facilities can reduce recidivism rates by using cognitive and behavioral treatments in areas such as anger management, substance abuse, and antisocial behaviors, and also by providing education that imparts job skills, life skills, decision-making skills, and more.
“Even a mild impact on the speed of return to jail, and thereby prison, will lower the impact on the overcrowding of the jail—and the crowded criminal justice system,” Jenkins said.
To start the project, the county will have to front approximately $109,000—to be reimbursed by the state corrections department—beginning July 1 of this year. If approved, the center would be overseen by the Sheriff’s Department and services would be provided by a local vendor or nonprofit familiar with rehabilitative programs.
At their last meeting, the supervisors voted 3-0 (with supervisors Joni Gray and Janet Wolf absent) to accept and file the sheriff’s report. The board plans to revisit the matter when it becomes more apparent whether or not the state will have money available for the project.
“We’re a long way away from having the governor and legislature agree on a state budget,” 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr said. “But the sheriff seems optimistic about [receiving] the funds.
“We want to do whatever we can to get parolees’ lives back on track,” Farr added. “The centers are good for [parolees] and their families and the community because they’re certainly cost effective.”
In his e-mail, Cmdr. Jenkins said the department has spoken to a few other vendors and agencies that have similar contracts with the state.
“They have all gotten paid by CDCR, so there is minimal concern that they will not pay once the service is delivered,” he said.
Along with decreasing jail overcrowding and saving the county money, Jenkins said the centers would also benefit county residents.
“When a person re-offends, they have in many cases victimized a local citizen. There is a cost to that victimization. It may be monetary (loss of or damage to personal property, medical bills, lost time) or in some cases emotional and psychological,” Jenkins said in the e-mail. “The impact of violent crimes on an individual, family, even the extended community can have long-term personal impacts, some even being scarred for life. The fear of crime changes the way you live, even if you are not the direct victim (like a friend or neighbor).”
The parolee centers, he said, would ultimately prepare inmates to reenter society as functioning adults, and therefore prevent future crimes from occurring.
And if everything goes according to plan, the county might be able to eventually extend the services provided to state parolees to local parolees.
“[The center] seems like a model that could easily be extended to the county level if we are able to find the money,” Farr said. “Overall, it’s something the other supervisors and I are very interested in. But it’s something that’s going to require us to be very mindful of current budget concerns when considering.”
Contact News Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 4, 2010.