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Washington state law enforcement is concerned that Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to release as many as 950 non-violent inmates to limit coronavirus from spreading in the prison system “is of great risk to public safety” and may lead to a spike in new crimes.
Inslee on Monday announced the plan for the early release of inmates after the state Supreme Court ruled that he outline how the state will keep inmates safe during the pandemic.
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“This will help allow for increased physical distancing throughout the Department of Corrections' system, reducing the population by up to 950 people to continue to reduce the risks to incarcerated individuals while balancing public safety concerns,” Inslee said of the strategy.
The Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington state has six inmates and five workers who tested positive for the virus, a Department of Corrections official said Friday.
Inmates who will get the early release are those serving sentences for nonviolent offenses, including drugs and alcohol, or are being held on lower-level supervision violations, Inslee’s office said. Some inmates will be released through commutation, others will be released into a modified reentry program.
All those being released would have finished their sentences within the next eight months, Q13FOX reported.
The plan has local law enforcement concerned because the governor’s office did not give a clear definition of “nonviolent” crimes, and they worry that the surge of inmates being released will put an additional strain on their resources amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The release of inmates in concerning,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said in a press release following Inslee’s announcement. “In Washington, nonviolent offenses include many assault and sexual crimes.”
Meyer said that “historical data confirms new crimes will be committed as a result” of the large number of inmates being released.
There are already 700 inmates set to be released this month, with about 1,200 offenders having yet to be arrested for their crimes since the outbreak began, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said in the release.
“I feel the release of these additional offenders is of great risk to public safety," Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza said. “My fear is this will create additional concerns for local law enforcement as we struggle with the challengers already facing us from the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effect on routine operations.”
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The state Supreme Court ruling comes after six inmates and five workers at the Monroe Correctional Complex tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials are awaiting results on 54 other cases, according to Department of Corrections Secretary Stephen Sinclair.
As of Tuesday, there were at least 10,538 confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington with 516 deaths, according to the state health department.
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The coronavirus pandemic has forced jails elsewhere to release non-violent inmates to limit the spread of the disease in their facilities.
In California’s Los Angeles County, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the department has released 25 percent of the county inmate population as the pandemic worsened, a total of 4,276 non-violent inmates since Feb. 28.
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Villanueva told FOX11 he was most concerned about a potential rise in crime from the thousands of inmates being let out onto the streets of Los Angeles, calling it “uncharted territory.”
Fox News' Travis Fedschun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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