Overcrowding has long been a problem in California’s prisons and jails.  In 2006, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a Prison Overcrowding State of Emergency Proclamation because of the severity of the problem.  As a means to deal with this problem, voters approved Prop. 47 in 2014, downgrading certain drug and property related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. The… Continue reading Early Release of Prisoners in California and What it Means for the State

California’s Proposition 47 was hailed as a fix for the state’s burdened criminal justice system before its passage in November. Only a few months later, it’s looking like the proposition is in need of repair itself. Its passage was supposed to decriminalize the least serious offenses and reduce the state’s crowded prison populations. Law enforcement… Continue reading Proposition 47 Votes in Unexpected Trouble

A Bureau of Justice Statistics special report estimates that more than half of all prisoners and jail inmates have or had some form of undiagnosed or diagnosed mental health problem. This is compounded by rampant substance abuse issues already facing many of these inmates. California prisons and jails have become homes for people with mental… Continue reading Orange County California Jails Turning into Mental Hospitals as the Number of Mentally Ill Inmates Increases

Pressure has continued to build up in local jails in Orange County after changes which were introduced in order to reduce the population in state prisons. The state law which is referred to as AB109 required non serious and low level offenders to be sentenced to county jails instead of state prison in order to… Continue reading Orange County Jails More Dangerous Than Ever

A plan that was designed to reduce prisoners’ population in state prisons has had very negative effects on county jails in Orange County. According to the new state laws passed a few years ago, lower level criminals are transferred from state prisons to local jails in order to serve the remainder of their sentence. This… Continue reading Violence is on the Rise in Orange County Jails

According to National Safety Council more than 5,900 pedestrians are killed each year after being hit by cars on US roads and highways with another 85,000 that suffer non-fatal injuries. In fact, one pedestrian dies every two hours after being struck by a vehicle. Almost half of these accidents that resulted in death, 48% to… Continue reading Preventing and Dealing with Pedestrian Car Accidents

Prisons are a burden to the taxpayer and strain both state and county resources; this is a well known fact and agreed by all stakeholders. Yet the system as it stands seeks to increase the cost to taxpayers with additional programs and more mandates from the very system that has caused the problem in the… Continue reading Commercial Bail Bonds is Part of the Solution to Overcrowding in Prisons

With the advent of the GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, many people believe that they can use it to help keep track of criminals who are released before trial instead of keeping them locked up in jail. They think this is a solution to the overcrowding the jails. Many officials are on a constant search… Continue reading GPS Monitoring: A Promising Solution that Doesn’t Deliver

Bail bonds are an essential pretrial option offered by a bail bondsman in most states. Only four states, Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin, prohibit this option and are experiencing a much higher level of county jail overpopulation and higher costs for taxpayers covering the housing fees. Those defendants are stuck in jail, pending trial dates.… Continue reading Bail Bonds and the Blame Game over Jail Overcrowding

Oscar Pistorius also known as “Blade Runner” because of his accomplishments as the first double leg amputee to participate in the Summer Olympics, was charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day this year. His daily court appearances before a South African magistrate displayed the emotional impact and toll to all parties… Continue reading Bail or Jail for the Blade Runner