RivCo Inmates Headed to Fire Camp

The following article was written by Local Editor Toni McAllister: 

Twenty inmates sitting in Riverside County jails have qualified to participate in a state fire camp program, a law enforcement official announced Tuesday. 

The male inmates, all identified as non-violent or non-high-risk sex criminals, will be transported June 5 to the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) fire camp training facility, the Sierra Conservation Camp, in Jamestown, California, before being assigned to a specific camp, according to a released statement from Chief Deputy Raymond Gregory of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

After their training, the inmates will be shipped back to local Riverside County fire camps whenever possible, according to Gregory. 

Riverside County has inmate fire camps in Norco, Bautista (Hemet), and Oak Glen, the chief deputy’s statement read. 

Fire camp inmates assist in maintaining fire suppression teams, while performing local public road maintenance and community service projects between fires, according to the statement.

The sheriff's department anticipates sending additional inmates every two weeks until the program reaches full capacity. The current contract between Riverside County and CDCR caps the program at 200 inmates, at any one time, over the course of five years, Gregory’s statement explained.

There is a cost to the county of $46.19 per inmate per day, but realignment funds controlled by the local Community Corrections Partnership have been set aside to pay for this program, according to Gregory’s statement.

In October 2011, AB 109, otherwise known as the Public Safety Realignment Act (Realignment,) went into effect. It mandated that, in order to cut state costs, people sentenced for non-serious, non-violent or non-high risk sex crimes have to serve out their sentences in county jails instead of state prison. 

As a result, Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff has maintained his jails are overcrowded. At the same time, the state prison system no longer has the non-violent criminal population it once had, so headcount at the state fire camps was coming up short.

However, under AB 109 local counties can contract inmates back to CDCR for the purpose of filling positions in the fire camp program, according to Gregory.

On April 23, 2013, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the Riverside County sheriff's proposal of allowing county jail inmates to participate in the CDCR fire camp program. Gregory said the county is the first in California to take advantage of the program. 

“The county will benefit by freeing up local jail beds. County inmates who qualify for the program will benefit by learning new skills and having a productive outlet for their energies while incarcerated,” Gregory’s statement read.

In addition to their criminal history, qualified inmates must also demonstrate they have the physical ability to perform the functions required at the fire camps, according to Gregory.