County Jail Populations Declining After Voter-Approved Measure
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Inmate populations are falling in once-overcrowded California county jails since voters decided in November that certain drug and property crimes should be treated as misdemeanors instead of felonies.
Some are avoiding jail time under Proposition 47.
But many of those who are sent to county lock-ups for crimes not covered by the initiative are spending more time there because jail officials no longer must release them early due to overcrowding.
An Associated Press survey finds Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties are among those with fewer early releases. The AP surveyed the 10 counties that together account for about 70 percent of California's total jail population.
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