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Public Safety

Prison Overcrowding Could Impact County Jails

Financial and legal pressure on California's prisons could have implications for San Diego County Jails.

California's Governor wants to save the state more than a billion dollars by releasing 27 thousand prison inmates. Meanwhile a federal three judge panel has ruled California must release more then 40 thousand inmates within two years because the state can't take of inmates medical needs. Sheriff Bill Gore says he's worried that he won't be able to send inmates to state prisons.

"We currently send about 200 inmates a week from our county jails to the state prisons," said Gore. "If, in fact, they're not able going to be to take those inmates, our county jail here in San Diego is going to become overcrowded and over our court ordered capacity within a month or two."

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Gore says sheriffs around the state are working with lawmakers to create a plan that will release inmates in an orderly fashion.

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