Jail inmates could be released early amid coronavirus precautions, SLO County says
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office on Monday said it is considering releasing some jail inmates early following a flu outbreak at the facility and dozens of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the county.
As of late Monday, no inmates or staff at the San Luis Obispo County Jail or at the low-to-medium security California Men’s Colony state prison in San Luis Obispo have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Despite enacting a host of restrictive policies aimed at preventing an outbreak of COVID-19 among the incarcerated population at the facility, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Monday declined to say whether the state is considering early release for any of its convicted inmates.
SLO County Jail eyes inmate releases after flu outbreak
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla said in an email Monday that the agency is “reviewing with the DA’s Office a list of potential releases, however we have not released (inmates) yet.”
He wrote that the Sheriff’s Office is “focusing on the age and the health of non-violent inmates” in their review.
Cipolla declined to say how many inmates are being considered for release, or how many have been convicted of the crimes for which they are in custody.
He said the two agencies do not have an estimate on when a decision could be made.
Assistant district attorney Eric Dobroth confirmed that his agency is working with sheriff’s officials on that review.
Dobroth said the Sheriff’s Office is “looking into a process in which these inmates that could possibly be released are vetted both inside the jail and with us, as well.”
He said the Sheriff’s Office is seeking prosecutors’ perspectives on the individual cases for concerns over certain inmates’ release.
“It’s a little bit of an in-house process,” Dobroth said.
Dobroth would not give a number of inmates under consideration, but said it’s “not as large as you might expect.”
Cipolla told The Tribune that the Sheriff’s Office has a standing order from the San Luis Obispo Superior Court to potentially release inmates early, obtained years prior to novel coronavirus when the jail was facing serious overcrowding in response to state prison realignment.
The standing order allows for the agency to use its discretion in releasing inmates “should the need arise,” Cipolla said.
It is not clear if the current inmate review is specifically in response to coronavirus concerns.
On March 18, the Sheriff’s Office said about one-quarter of the County Jail’s inmate population was in quarantine following an outbreak of influenza at the facility. The main jail houses roughly 500 inmates.
Despite the spread, the Sheriff’s Office says the number of influenza cases inside the jail “is generally in line with what we expect to see during the flu season.”
The cases are being managed with the help of county Public Health, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
As of March 18, the jail had seven housing units at one point under quarantine — where inmate movement is restricted — and two of those units have since been released from quarantine, the agency said.
Each housing unit contains between 5 and 40 people, and housing units are released from quarantine after seven days of no new cases.
“So far, no new cases of flu have been identified in the quarantined units,” the release said.
Cipolla did not immediately respond to a question late Monday about whether the possible early releases are motivated by coronavirus or flu, or both.
California Men’s Colony responds to coronavirus
Like the County Jail, the California Men’s Colony has suspended inmate visitation indefinitely and has restricted inmate movement and travel.
Asked Monday about any possible early release for the prison population — inmates who have all been convicted of felonies — a state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman declined to say whether any such process is being pursued.
However, spokeswoman Dana Simas provided a statement from the agency saying that it is “continuously implementing proactive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to keep our incarcerated population, and the community-at-large, safe.”
“The department has made significant strides in reducing its overall inmate population, which allows us greater opportunities to evaluate existing resources, find innovative ways of providing patient care within our facilities, and to lessen the impact on our statewide public health care delivery system,” the statement reads. “Additional measures will continue to be developed based on the rapidly-evolving situation.”
Asked what “significant strides” the statement referred to, Simas clarified in an email that those include state prison realignment “and all of the criminal justice reforms through both legislation and voter initiative that have reduced our inmate population from almost 150,000 in 2011 to where it is today, which is approximately 117,000.”
CDCR released a statement March 21 announcing that, on the advice of public health officials throughout the state and out of concern for the health of victims, district attorneys, inmates, counsel and board of parole hearings employees, parole suitability hearings scheduled for March 23 through March 31 will be postponed.
“(The Board of Parole Hearings) is making every effort to explore all available options for resuming parole hearings as soon as possible and in a manner that is accessible to all hearing participants,” the statement reads.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
