Controversial plan to lower population of LA County jails withdrawn in face of opposition

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A controversial Board of Supervisors proposal to lower the population of Los Angeles County jails is being withdrawn in the face of public opposition.

The proposal by supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath called for declaring a "humanitarian crisis" in the jails.

It proposed to have agencies evaluate and expand programs to keep people out of jail even after they are convicted of misdemeanors or some felonies. That would include the expanded use of electronic monitoring instead of jail time, encouraging courts to grant $0 bail for pretrial detainees facing misdemeanor and low-level felony charges, and transferring more convicted inmates to the state prison system.

The board was scheduled to talk about the plan at Tuesday's meeting.

However, after concerns were raised by the public and at least two of the board's five members, Solis said she is withdrawing the proposal for now.

"Since the motion was published, my office has received concerns from a variety of stakeholders - those who feel the motion is not doing enough and those who feel it is doing too much," Solis said in a statement released Monday. "To that end, I will be referring the motion back to my office so that I can continue to gather input from all stakeholders. We must help balance the needs of public safety while also getting into compliance with our federal obligations."

Ivette Ale-Ferlito is with the group La Defensa which has been working for years to get Men's Central Jail shut down.

"The Men's Central Jail is one of the worst public health disasters in our county's history," she said. "What this motion aims to do is just tinkering on the edges," she said. "It doesn't actually get to the substance of what the county needs to do so close this facility."

Board members Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger had released statements critical of the plan.

"This board has taken steps to divert people from our jails safely, but Men's Central Jail continues to overcrowded and dangerous for both our inmates and our deputies. That being said, I have concerns with this proposal and its potential impact on public safety, and I cannot support it," said Hahn, the current chair of the board.

"Any plan to reduce the population of our jails needs to be decided in partnership with law enforcement, our deputy district attorneys, and our courts. I understand that my colleague plans to pull this item from the agenda and I think that is the right decision."

Barger told Eyewitness News releasing a large number of inmates is a safety problem.

"I listen to DAs and law enforcement telling me that this is going to have an incredibly negative impact on public safety in my communities," she said. "But something will need to be done soon."

According to data from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department analyzed by the Vera Institute of Justice and ABC7, Men's Central and the Twin Towers are operating right at the cusp of their capacities.