New study shows Sacramento County routinely releases inmates in the middle of the night
SACRAMENTO — High levels of overnight inmate releases at the Sacramento County Main Jail are causing concern on Sacramento streets.
A new survey shows Sacramento County is routinely releasing inmates in the middle of the night, with some people let out with no plan for short-term housing and no public transportation options in a downtown district feeling the impact.
Ernesto Delgado owns La Cosecha restaurant in Cesar Chavez Plaza, three blocks from the jail. He says the inmate releases are bad for his business.
"We often do have problems from vandalism to theft," Delgado said. "Because the plaza is so close to jail, this is where they're coming. They're walking to the plaza."
The new numbers from the Board of State and Community Corrections survey show 27% of all inmate releases from the Sacramento jail are between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., an average of 565 people a month released in the overnight hours. That is double the number of other counties surveyed.
Jael Barnes works with the nonprofit group DeCarcerate Sacramento. Her organization tries to work with released inmates if they have nowhere to go.
"It's ridiculous," Barnes said. "I mean, a lot of people that are incarcerated in the Sacramento jail, they are pretty much alone, so it is very hard to call someone in the middle of the night and let them know they are being released."
The Sacramento Community Review Commission reports the overnight releases are based on Sacramento's use of night court arraignments. The commission is recommending that overnight jail releases become an exception, not a rule — giving people who are fresh out of jail a better opportunity to find services right away, in the daylight, not in the dark.
The commission is recommending the sheriff's department create what they call a "release playbook" that includes mental health needs, housing, and treatment options.
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