Study: Supervised Release Of Thousands Currently Incarcerated Could Make Community Safer
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A new study by the Rand Corporation has found that letting thousands of people of out of jail, and relocating them to group homes for treatment, could make the community safer.
That study said 3,300 people — about 66% of the county's current jail mental health population — incarcerated in Los Angeles County jails could be diverted into group homes where they would receive the clinical services they needed.
The group's hope is that by getting people out of jail, and into supervised treatment, the cycle of homelessness that leads to jail that often leads to more homelessness could be broken. The study was presented to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
"Helping those who do not need to be incarcerated, but can rather benefit from treatment, is not the antithesis of public safety, but the underpinning of public safety," L.A. County Supervisor Shiela Keuhl said.
The biggest hurdle for implementation was the cost. The county's Office of Diversion and Reentry would need to greatly expand funding to create enough supervised community housing to meet the group's recommendations.
