Baca Says He Will Release 400 Inmates

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday it will release jail inmates being held on bail amounts of $25,000 or less beginning Friday to cope with budget cutbacks.

About 400 inmates who are accused of committing misdemeanor crimes such as burglary, vandalism and battery will be released on a written promise to appear in court, sheriff’s officials said. Inmates facing domestic violence charges, crimes against children or probation violations will remain in custody. The action by Sheriff Lee Baca is reminiscent of ones taken by his predecessor, the late Sherman Block, during similar budget spats with the county Board of Supervisors in the 1990s.

“We have no choice,” Al Scaduto, chief of correctional services for the Sheriff’s Department, said Wednesday. “If we don’t have the funds to operate these facilities, we have no options.”

The move was met with strong reactions from supervisors, prosecutors and judges.

“This action suggests that his lowest priority is keeping these prisoners in jail,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. “I can’t believe he is serious, and if he is, he’ll have to deal with his constituency.

“There are 100 things he could do before releasing prisoners ... like selling his airplane, canceling the training program for upper management and a host of others,” Yaroslavsky said.

A commander from the Sheriff’s Department called the Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon to inform the judges of the plan. In a letter to the court, Baca cited the county board’s proposed budget that would cut $100 million from the department this year.

Supervising Criminal Judge Dan Oki wrote to fellow judges that the court is researching whether the sheriff has the legal authority to release inmates once bail has been set.

Scaduto said state law gives the Sheriff’s Department the right to release inmates awaiting trial for misdemeanors.

In his letter, Baca also wrote that he will soon be forced to close the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, which houses as many as 2,000 inmates daily. The Sheriff’s Department has to make room for those inmates elsewhere by releasing defendants with bails lower than $25,000.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley responded Wednesday by urging his deputy district attorneys to go to court and request higher bails for defendants who they believe should remain in custody. Cooley said he believes it is likely that many of the released defendants will either become fugitives or will commit new crimes.

Cooley said he empathizes with Baca’s budget problems, but that he doesn’t believe releasing inmates is the best response. Cooley said the Sheriff’s Department should not arbitrarily disregard judges’ decisions on bail. “That’s not the way it’s supposed to work,” Cooley said.

Baca urged prosecutors not to ask for higher bails than usual, and he said he would begin the early release of inmates who have been convicted and are already serving time. Those inmates would be released based on completion of a percentage of their sentence.

“While these proposals may appear to jeopardize public safety and compromise the legal system, my Department must find a way to provide those services that are mandated by law and contractual agreements,” Baca wrote.

The policy could cause problems with some prosecutions if defendants fail to show up for trial, said Mary McGuire, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

“But we will make every to effort to ensure that those who need to be in custody are kept in custody, even if it means requesting bail in excess of $25,000,” she said.

Sgt. John A. Pasquariello, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said the inmates’ release will not require any special deployment of law enforcement officers.

“We are convinced the sheriff will not release anyone violent or under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” he said.

“It is a concern any time inmates are released, but, given the guidelines under which they will be released, we are not anticipating any problems,” he said.

The announcement caught county supervisors by surprise. Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said that if Baca does release the inmates, “he has to bear responsibility for the crimes that these people commit.”

Burke added that there are responsible ways to manage with the budget. “I think this is very irresponsible,” she said. “It does not increase his credibility during this budget process.”

In recent weeks, Baca has launched an all-out public relations battle to protect his resources and gather public support, including packing a recent supervisors’ meeting with hundreds of deputies.

Sheriff’s officials have said they plan to cut staffing and eliminate task forces on hate crimes.

They have also told key specialized units--including the family crimes and narcotics bureaus, among others--that they would probably have to reassign deputies to patrol jobs if the budget is cut.

This is not the first time the Sheriff’s Department has planned to release inmates because of budget constraints.

In March 1995, then-Sheriff Sherman Block announced the release of about 3,000 inmates because of budget constraints.

The inmates released then were serving sentences for misdemeanors and “low-grade” felonies, such as drunk driving and burglary.

Block had repeatedly threatened to make such early releases and to close jails during budget skirmishes with the Board of Supervisors.

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Times staff writers Steve Berry, Garrett Therolf and Beth Shuster contributed to this report.