Riverside County Considers Charging Inmates, Imposing Visitors Fee

RIVERSIDE (AP) — Riverside County officials will look at recovering its jail costs by charging inmates a day rate and imposing a fee for their visitors.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise says county supervisors voted Tuesday to look into measures proposed by Supervisor Jeff Stone.

Stone says the financially strapped county must look in "every nook and cranny" to recover the $142 per day it costs to house a jail inmate. He says many people serve short sentences for crimes such as drunken driving and have the means to pay.

He's also proposed charging jail visitors and asks the county to consider recovering the costs for medical care, court filing fees and jail telephone use.

County Counsel Pamela Walls will look into the legality of the proposal and report back to supervisors in four months.

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