Sacramento County to Expect More Lay Offs From Sheriff Department
Last year, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department felt the pinch of a declining budget. Hundreds of sheriff’s department employees were laid off, cutting programs, patrols, and much more. Now, Sacramento County executives are saying that they must cut $166 million to balance next year’s budget. The fiscal budget year begins on July 1, 2010.
$55 million is proposed to be cut from the sheriff’s department. A loss that large could result in the elimination of investigations and patrols. Sheriff John McGinness, in light of the recent increase of violent crime in recent days, says that with further cuts, the criminals will be in charge, “not law enforcement”.
The Sacramento County Probation Department stands to lose $28 million. This would cause a proposed loss of 194 positions, severely weakening the department as a whole. There are about 5,000 high risk felons living in our communities. According to the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, 67% of former prisoners are rearrested within three