(San Luis Obispo County) CountyGrand Jury report: Realignment making noticeable impact on California Men's Colony

KSBY.com - April 19, 2012 - A San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury report has found the state realignment of prisons has made a noticeable impact on conditions at the California Men's Colony. Realignment went into effect six months ago. It is the statewide law that assigns non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual offenders to county jails where the offense occurred. According to the report, when the Grand Jury visited CMC on October 3, the inmate population had already declined by more than 275 inmates. By January, its population had decreased by about 600 inmates, or 16%. As a result, the report said there has been a decline in the number of incident reports, disciplinary reports, grievances and medical appointments. Santa Barbara County has seen a similar trend. Its main jail is experiencing a higher than projected number of inmates. According to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' Department agenda, funds have not been expended as quickly as anticipated, but they are accelerating.