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ACLU Critical Of County Plan To Reopen Jail Facility

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A letter the ACLU recently sent to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors actually agrees with much of the realignment plan budget to handle the influx of former state prison inmates, but it was critical of the possibility of reopening a jail at a cost of millions of dollars.

"The spirit was not to take all of the prisoners coming from the state and put them back in jail," Sacramento County ACLU Chairwoman Debra Reiger said.

The county is deciding how to invest millions coming from the state for the prisoner realignment plan, shifting inmates from state prisons to county jails to combat overcrowding.

Under the county's current proposal, a jail at the Cosumnes Correctional Facility would be reopened, but the ACLU says that will cost $6 million up front and $700,000 a month thereafter to operate.

"There's a fear of the Field of Dreams thing, that if you build it, they will come," Reiger said.

The ACLU argues that more money should go toward rehabilitative efforts, with programs focused on reducing recidivism.

The group believes community supervision, home detention and counseling should be considered as alternatives to incarceration. Those alternatives would save taxpayers money in the long run, they say.

Their comments came moments before the county began a workshop on the very issue Tuesday.

Following Tuesday's committee meeting, the Board of Supervisors is set to take a final vote on the realignment plan next week.

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