Amador County – Amador County officials have been preparing for statewide “inmate realignment” set to take effect Oct. 1.

Amador County Chief Probation Officer Mark Bonini said it was the biggest change in the criminal justice system in California since the 1970s and there was quite a bit of cleanup legislation, the last signed Wednesday by Gov. Brown.

Due to federal legislation, California faced the possibility of releasing 30,000 to 40,000 inmates. Bonini said “in place of having to do that,” the California Legislature has been working with the Chief Probation Officers Association, California State Association of Counties, California County Sheriffs and other groups to create Assembly Bill 109.

Bonini said he has been actively working behind the scenes, through the Chief Probation Officers Association, since January, and the Legislation helped enact the federal requirements “in a more orderly manner.”

Bonini said the good thing is, “under AB109, no offenders are being released early.” A certain population of offenders will go to county jails, instead of state prison. Those new offenders must meet the classification of being non-serious offenders, non-violent offenders and non-sex-offenders. If they are sentenced to custodial time, they must stay in the county jail in the county where they committed the crime, but they will not go to state prisons. Bonini said: “They still do time, but where they do time is changed.”

The impact on Amador County will come as a trickle at first, and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimated 53 people the first year. Another 43 people now in prison will go to “post-release supervision,” overseen by Amador County Probation. It is not probation but has similar restrictions. The “post-release community offenders” previously were supervised by state parole, but now will be supervised by county probation offices, Bonini said. It remains to be seen if CDCR projections are on target, but an estimated two community offenders coming to Amador Probation Oct. 1 instead will be five, he said.

Another realignment is funding. CSAC worked on and approved a Community Corrections Fund, Bonini said. AB109 set up a Community Corrections Panel (CCP), with an executive board, chaired in each county by the Chief Probation Officer, and seated with the Sheriff, District Attorney, one Police Chief, the presiding Superior Court Judge, County Administrative Officer, Director of Health Services, and Public Defender.

The CCP must create a plan for funding distribution, which is approved by the Board of Supervisors. That plan still must be written.

Bonini said that’s why the CCP executive board includes who it does, so they can look at the way the system is changed, and tackle it together, to see where new funding and staff may be needed.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.