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Official: LA County Faces Incoming 'Tsunami' Of Freed State Parolees

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Officials on Wednesday said they have yet to settle on a solution to mitigate the effects of the impending release of thousands of state parolees into Los Angeles County.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports one county supervisor is warning the public is largely unprepared for when the state begins releasing low-level offenders from prisons beginning October 1.

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L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is among those trying to come up with a plan to hire more probation officers and figure out how they might meet the medical needs of all those parolees.

"We have a tsunami coming," said Antonovich. "It's really breaking the back of the criminal justice system and the health care delivery system."

But beyond the economic fallout, Antonovich warned the release — which is part of a California court order to reduce overcrowding in state prisons — is failing to catch the attention of county residents.

"Overall, the community has really been silent as to what is going to be hitting them," he said.

L.A. County expects an estimated 9,000 state parolees to be freed in just the first year alone.

A vote is set for next week for supervisors to vote on a plan to deal with the release.

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