In a new agreement to help keep local fire camps staffed and preserve County jail space for serious criminals, the County transferred its first inmates to state-run fire camps Friday.
The six low-level offenders departed Vista Detention Facility before dawn for the state’s fire camp training program in central California. After physical fitness conditioning and skill building, they will return to one of four local California Department of Rehabilitation/CAL FIRE inmate fire camps.
“Transferring some low-level inmates to fire camps serves public safety on two levels,” said Sheriff Bill Gore. “We help make sure local fire camps are staffed to fight wildfires, and we preserve jail space to keep serious criminals in custody.”
The County’s contract with the state for the inmate transfers was finalized in late October. Since then, the Sheriff’s Department has been screening low-level offenders who qualify for the program.
“This is great news because the contract ensures that inmates will remain on the front lines of backcountry firefighting,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who joined Sheriff Bill Gore and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis this summer to initiate the inmate transfer program. “These low-risk offenders provide much-needed boots on the ground when wildfire hits, and they put more muscle into our efforts to manage overgrown brush in high-risk areas.”
The agreement with the state was motivated by changes under prisoner realignment, or Assembly Bill 109.
“These inmate transfers are a great example of how law enforcement is working together to address the unique challenges brought on by prisoner realignment, including crowded local jails, while at the same time protecting public safety,” said DA Dumanis.
The 2011 measure to address overcrowding in state prisons changed sentencing laws so that some felons serve their time in county jails instead of state prisons. As a consequence, San Diego County jails are pushing capacity every day, while at the same time, the state system no longer has enough low-level offenders to staff its inmate fires camps.
The County will pay the state $46.19 per day for each inmate transferred to fire camps.
The Sheriff’s Department will regularly identify additional low-level offenders who meet state and local criteria for the fire camps and transfer any qualified inmates on a bi-weekly basis. At any given time, about 50 to 100 inmates in local jails may qualify for transfer.
