Felon release a threat to communities

The fallacy in all of this maneuvering is that Los Angeles County lock-up facilities are themselves overcrowded and cannot accommodate the additional load of this extra prison population. So much of this state’s offload cannot be housed and as a result they will be supervised using monitoring devices.

The difficulty with the approach is that there are not sufficient personnel to adequately do the monitoring work. They, like most agencies in California, have been subjected to severe cutbacks in dollars and workforces.

The state has exacerbated the problem by sending the released felons back to their counties of origin, but without accompanying dollars. As part of the record, this is a continuing practice in our state. Our leadership in Sacramento is in the business of creating laws, but very seldom in the business of paying for the enforcement of these laws.

The real threat is in a rising crime rate and our inability to cope, i.e. if a released felon is re-arrested and found guilty of the accused crime, he likely won’t serve time because the prisons are overcrowded. Ultimately, they will be released and continue to do what they do best — practice crime.

Rock encouraged us to be more alert and to be diligent in formulating Neighborhood Watch organizations. The Police Department will assist with the organizing and structuring of the Neighborhood Watch in all five districts in Glendale.