Parolees released as part of the Governor’s Realignment plan are disabling and discarding their GPS monitors without fear of incarceration, and in some cases, they’ve become habitual parole violators.
Since October 2011, more than 3,400 warrants have been issued for individuals tampering with the GPS units. That’s an increase of 28 percent over previous years. Many of those offenders rarely see additional jail time as the county jails are overcrowding. In many cases, parole violators spend less than a day in jail.
How parole violators are handled depends largely upon which county is responsible for supervising the parolee or inmate. The state is trying to provide additional clarifications, but new legislation will slog its way through Sacramento. Meanwhile judges and parole agents are concerned about when – and not if – one of the early released or parole violating offenders commits a heinous crime.
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times.