One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Hard Time Hotel: Riverside Inmates Could Be Made To Reimburse County $142 a Day for Stay in Jail
Image by SSSCCC via Shutterstock
Inmates in Riverside County will soon find themselves having to pony up cash for their "stay" in jail. Today the Board of Supervisors "tentatively approved an ordinance to require inmates in county detention facilities to reimburse the county for the cost of their incarceration," reports CBS2.
The ordinance is called RECORCE, which stands for "Require Every Convict Occupant Reimburse County Expenses," and it was brought to the Board by Supervisor Jeff Stone for the first time in June.
Stone has previously explained his thoughts on the issue, according to the Press-Enterprise:
“I believe we have a responsibility and duty to reimburse the county for incarceration, legal costs and fees whenever and wherever possible. [...] I think we’re blazing a new trail here. [...] In these very challenging economic times, I believe this can be a source of revenue …I believe this can return 3 to 5 million (dollars) a year during these very challenging economic times.”
It costs an average $142 per day for an inmate's stay in a Riverside County jail. Convicts who spend a day or more in such a facility would have to be put through an assessment to determine if they are able to pay back the County. However, if an inmate is unable to pay, there would not be a "debtor's prison" where they'd be sent. Additionally, paying back the county for inmate housing at the jail is the last item on a long list of obligations inmates who have financial means face when their stay is up.
The ordinance must go through a final hearing next week before it is formally adopted.
Let's not forget, Riverside County is also where the police raided the local "Occupy" camp and made 11 arrests, and they have created laws against lights that block others from seeing the night sky and sex offenders putting up Halloween decorations.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
