SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — All across the state of California, non-violent, low-level jail inmates waiting for their court date behind bars are now being released as officials ramp up efforts to keep the coronavirus from spreading in jails.
About 100 inmates were released in phases on Monday from the San Joaquin County and between 50 to 100 inmates were released from the Stanislaus County jail.
But not all county officials are elated about the idea.
"It's not just risky for our citizens, it's wrong to do to our inmates," San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow said. "It's my job to keep them locked up but I don't have any choice in this, I've been ordered to do it."
On April 8, a San Joaquin County Superior Court judge ordered Withrow to implement "Emergency Rule 4," which sets in motion zero bail for certain offenses.
It only applies to people accused of misdemeanors and some non-violent felonies, as they wait for their court date.
Still, Withrow says with zero confirmed cases of the coronavirus in his jail, he believes inmates are safer there, rather than out on the streets.
"So, it's really putting these inmates at risk for leaving our jail and going out amongst the populations," Withrow said. "Some of them don't have homes, and they obviously won't have the medical care that they get at our facility."
While the people being released aren't accused of most felonies or violent crimes, Withrow said he worries those accused of committing crimes like property thefts and repeat offenses will commit more crimes.
He says he personally called each police chief in his county to apologize, telling them he was forced to do this.
"It really exposes our public here to really the baddest of the bad who we've kept away from them," Withrow said.
But the San Joaquin County Public Defender's office says this is meant to protect inmates and deputies from getting sick.
Miriam Lyell, the San Joaquin County Public Defender, said she appreciates the court's effort to help stave of the spread of COVID-19.
"I appreciate that the Chief Justice and the judicial council recognizes that people are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that all of the practices that are recommended by the public health in terms of social distancing or washing your hands and wiping down surfaces are much more difficult to practice," Lyell said.
She says some inmates will have to wear ankle monitors to track where they go.
Plus, both the San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties sheriff's offices are stepping up patrols on the street with additional officers at all times.
"Normally, we would have between 9 and 11 bodies on day shift and or graveyard, now we have about 15 to 16 on day shift and or graveyard," Deputy Raj Singh, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office said. "So just more bodies on the street at any given time, as far as officers go."
Keep in mind, for every inmate being released, the bail is just being reduced to zero and they want to be clear each inmate is still 'on the hook' for the crimes they may have committed.
"What's happening is all of those people that are getting released, they should be getting a citation or ticket with a court date, so they still have to go to court, they still have to potentially answer for the crimes they have committed, but their bail has dropped down to zero," Singh said.
The state says every inmate being released will appear before a judge within the next four months.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Lena Howland.
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