Members of law enforcement, social services and the justice system recently called for a regional plan to handle as many as 1,000 state inmates who are expected to make Ventura County their home after they’re released from prison earlier than anticipated.

In August, a three-judge federal panel ordered California to prepare a plan by September to reduce its prison population by about 45,000 inmates within two years.

The court rejected the Sept. 18 plan submitted by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and gave the department until Thurs., Nov. 12 to revise it.

“The state . . . continues to work to implement the reforms enacted by the state budget that will reduce overcrowding without compromising public safety,” said Gordon Hinkle, corrections department spokesperson.

Many county and city leaders aren’t convinced.

On Oct. 22, the Ventura Council of Governments conducted a panel discussion in Camarillo on the possible effects prisoners who’ve been released early could have on the area.

The aim of the council, a joint powers authority representing the county’s 10 cities, is to promote cooperative planning and assistance on issues of shared concern.

Nearly 100 people attended the two-hour meeting.

Undersheriff Mark Ball said he expects 500 to 1,000 state prisoners to come to Ventura County. Because 70 percent of former convicts commit crimes within three years of being released, the county’s three jails could see at least 350 additional inmates, Ball estimated.

County jails are designed to house 1,450 inmates but are currently overcrowded with 1,650, Ball said. Sixty-seven percent of them have yet to be sentenced.

“We can’t take another 300,” Ball said. “We physically can’t do it; by law, we can’t do it.”

Ball said he’s also concerned that the state will release prisoners without parole supervision.

If that happens, former inmates may be subjected at any time to a search by law enforcement but can’t be sent back to prison on parole violations. They’d have to be brought up on “fresh charges,” requiring them to start over in the judicial system, Ball said. The state wants to make it harder, he said, to return former inmates to prison.

Karen Staples of the Ventura County Probation Agency said the first 90 days after an inmate is released are the most critical in helping them become productive citizens—and she’s concerned there won’t be adequate services to help the former inmates get on their feet.

The agency may explore alternatives to incarceration—such as increased supervision for those convicted of nonviolent crimes— with other county agencies, Staples said.

The probation agency recently implemented a similar multiagency program. Instead of having those who pose no threat to society await trial in jail, an electronic monitor can track their whereabouts through a global positioning system.

Howard Asher of the Ventura County public defender’s office said probation’s pretrial release program lets his office find alternatives to incarceration. About 70 percent of those represented by public defenders have been charged with nonviolent, nonserious crimes, Asher said.

But Chief Assistant District Attorney Jim Ellison said alternative programs create more work for his office because the cases don’t go away.

Prosecutors of misdemeanor offenses, the majority of cases that come through the D.A.’s office, already average 145 cases at any given time, he said.

If the state doesn’t impose parole terms on the early-release inmates, the district attorney’s office could face hundreds of more cases to prosecute when former convicts re-offend.

Ellison said state inmates who committed minor thefts or drug offenses comprise only 13 percent of the prison population.

To release 40,000 or more prisoners—or 19 percent of its more than 210,000 inmates—the state must free at least 6 percent of the more serious offenders, said Ellison.

Panelists don’t know which offenders will gain early release.

Oxnard Police Chief John Crombach said law enforcement officials from throughout California have been working with the governor to find an acceptable offense level.

In a brief question-and-answer session, an audience member asked what programs are in place to keep former county inmates from returning to jail.

Ball said Sheriff Bob Brooks recently held the first job fair for county inmates. Thirty employers and 30 social service agencies showed up, and 70 inmates participated, he said.

“We intend to continue it because we knew it (would be) very successful,” Ball said.

Staples said the probation agency operates an adult-offender work furlough program and offers parolees literacy classes, drug and alcohol counseling and housing referrals.

Addressing social needs

The second set of panelists, officials from the county’s social service agencies, agreed the social needs of early-release inmates cannot be ignored and called for a partnership with communitybased social service agencies.

Barry Zimmerman, director of the county Human Services Agency, said helping former state prisoners get jobs will be the principal focus of his agency.

The current job market will be a barrier; even when the economy is thriving, ex-convicts have a difficult time finding employment, Zimmerman said.