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. 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." The proposal has been criticized by the vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys, Eric Siddall, who called it "dangerous" and said it does not include how to "protect the community from violent criminals."