LA County Sheriff Threatens to Release Prisoners Early if He Doesn’t Get His Way
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Monday threatened to close the Men’s Central Jail and perhaps a second detention facility when he and other county department heads are forced to cut their budgets.
Baca said closing the downtown Los Angeles jail, which would greatly reduce the capacity of the county jail system and lead to more early releases of inmates, might be necessary to bridge what he estimates will be a $72-million gap in his budget.
It’s blackmail and it’s dereliction of duty. Sheriff Baca has an obligation to ensure that the prisoners put in the custody of Los Angeles County remain there for the duration of their sentence unless the correct judicial authorities tell him to let them go. He does not have the authority himself to simply turn prisoners loose, period.
The people of Los Angeles ought to smack down his despicable thraet and remind him of his duties. Sheriff Baca presides over an agency with a $2.5 billion budget that I know without a doubt is paying police officers to do jobs that could be done at least as well and more cheaply by civilians. I guarantee you that he has more upper-level administrators than he needs. Every police department with more than a hundred or so members does. There is room for cuts in his budget that don’t require him to throw a pout and threaten public safety. If he won’t trim the fat, then perhaps the people should replace him with someone who can.
Other Posts of Interest:
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- City of DC Will Spend Your Money So It Doesn’t Have To Spend Its Own
Category: The Economy and Your Money, The Social Issues
He did this same thing before the election of 2006 (?) in order to push for a sales tax increase in LA to go to the department.
You're right – if he does this, he should end up there himself…
[...] do not pass”. Usually this comes from various local Sheriffs in the state such as Sheriff Lee Baca of LA County when the state budget threatens to affect local [...]