LA County Implements "Decarceration" Program to Replace Jail Time with Lesser Punishments

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering a plan to "decarcerate" jails by citing and releasing anyone with bail at $50,000 or less. The proposal outlines that it would declare the state of mental health services and overcrowding in the Los Angeles County jails a humanitarian crisis. If passed, the local sheriff would be instructed to review its bail thresholds and to cite and release "individuals with aggregate bail amounts set at $50,000 or below." Activists in Los Angeles called for the closure of the Men's Central Jail in the downtown area of the city last week, protesting near the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Thursday morning.