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Report: LA County Considers Outsourcing Inmates

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County is considering a last resort for dealing with an influx of state prisoners -- passing them on to another county.

The Los Angeles Times says a team of sheriff's official recently visited Taft in the San Joaquin Valley to look at one possible facility.

California is trying to ease state prison overcrowding by shipping inmates to county lockups -- mostly short-timers facing sentences of 90 days or less. Los Angeles County is expected to receive hundreds by year's end.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says relocating some of those inmates out of the county would only be considered under extreme circumstances. He says other options are preferred, such as electronic monitoring and home detention.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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