San Mateo County: Jails continue to release inmates

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, which manages the jails, starting Feb. 29 began reducing their population to a collective 969 inmates. The Sheriff’s Office further reduced jail populations on March 27 and again on April 10 down to 658 inmates. Elderly and pregnant inmates as well as inmates given relatively low bail who were already set to be released in 60 days or less were prioritized. 

“The thinking for us was let’s release some inmates who will not jeopardize public safety because that will allow us to have space in the event we have to quarantine any inmates,” said Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, adding that the inmates who were released early were selected by the Sheriff’s Office as well as the District Attorney’s Office, public defender, probation officials and county counsel.

By 5 p.m. Monday, the Sheriff’s Office will release another 100 inmates based on the new rules adopted by the Judicial Council of California on April 6, bringing the county’s total jail population to 558 inmates. The Judicial Council of California is the policy-making arm of the California court system.

The new rule adopted by the Judicial Council is an emergency schedule that sets bail for all misdemeanor and even some felony offenses to $0, meaning inmates can’t be held in custody and must be released. Most violent felony offenses are exempted from the new rules.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe acknowledged the ongoing crisis that prompted the emergency order, but said it’s missing an important component.

“The order leaves one thing out and that is discretion with our judges,” he said. “The leadership of the judicial branch did not trust the discretion of the several thousand trial judges. It would’ve been good to give the judges discretion.”

Wagstaffe also noted that those guilty of crimes including human trafficking as well as assault, provided there’s no great bodily injury, would be released under the new rules.

“The order forgets the victims,” Wagstaffe said. He also noted some of the inmates who will be released early are homeless and suffer from mental illness. 

Bolanos said he shares some of Wagstaffe’s concerns.

“There are people being released whose current charges may not be violent or serious, but they may have an underlying history of criminal behavior that would concern me. … I think some being released do pose a threat to public safety,” he said, adding that “this is a directive and we’re just going to follow it.”

Of the hundreds of inmates who’ve been released before their sentences are over in San Mateo County, Wagstaffe’s office has requested five of those offenders remain in jail. So far, three of those requests have been denied — one was for someone guilty of running a house of prostitution — one has been approved and another will be heard on Monday. The Monday hearing is for someone accused of human trafficking.

And once they’re released, the inmates are not monitored in any way, Wagstaffe said.

“There’s no supervision at all,” he said. “It’s as if they never committed the crime.”

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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