Beginning in October, some criminals who would have normally been placed in California state prisons will be redirected to their individual county facilities. This is being done in an effort to combat the severe overcrowding problem in state prisons without simply letting inmates go free. But in case you were picturing a mass caravan of inmates on October 1st, none of the inmates who are currently in state prisons will be moved to the counties. Only the new non-violent offenders will go to county jails where it is thought they will be able to rehabilitate more quickly and smoothly.

It’s the largest shift that we’ve ever seen in the state’s history.

~ Barry Krisberg, UC Berkeley

Those who oppose realignment in California doubt that there is sufficient funding and programs in place to handle this major change. Furthermore, many county jails will be hard-pressed to take any more prisoners since they are at capacity also. See full story here.