Cities Release Suspects to Avoid Jail Fee : Law enforcement: Bookings at Orange County facility dropped 11% after charge of $158 per inmate was implemented.

Financially strapped Orange County last year began charging cities a $158 fee for most inmates booked into the County Jail.

The new fee netted the county $2.7 million for the 1991-1992 fiscal year, but the real beneficiaries may be the increasing number of criminal suspects who are released after their arrests instead of facing at least a few hours behind bars.

Bookings at the Orange County Jail dropped 11% during the 1991-1992 fiscal year as many cities sought alternatives to the costly booking fees, law enforcement officials said. By contrast, during the first half of that year, the number of arrests in Orange County remained stable, according to the state Department of Justice.

“It’s a cost that few cities can afford. We can’t,” said Garden Grove Police Chief Stan Knee, whose department must release arrestees suspected of nonviolent misdemeanors as a way to cut back on the money the city spent on booking fees last year.

In its year-end report, the 1991-1992 Orange County Grand Jury concluded that county residents have “less protection from these criminals” because of the increase in suspects being cited and released.

The grand jury report said law enforcement officials are doing the best they can in a difficult situation, but noted that releasing people on court citations requires police to put their faith in those who are suspected of criminal activity.

“(Suspects) are immediately returned to the streets with the hope that they will appear in court (and not commit any additional crimes in the meantime),” according to the report.

People suspected of violent crimes and felonies are not eligible for such release, court, county and local law enforcement officials said. But those arrested on suspicion of misdemeanors such as public drunkenness and petty theft are routinely given tickets and told to show up in court.

Prosecutor Brent Romney, director of Orange County Municipal Court operations, said he is unaware of any proven link between increased crime and more suspects being released with citations.

“I would not say the streets are less safe from people who commit misdemeanors, because they typically spend less time in jail anyway because of overcrowding,” Romney said.

But it does not take long for the word to get out on the street that police are limited in their ability to arrest suspects, law enforcement officials said.

“It does have an impact on how you manage crime because the booking process is a powerful tool for police officers to take someone off the street,” Knee said. “When you can’t realistically arrest people of nuisance crimes, you really close the door on your ability to maintain order.”

“The people on the street know what is going on, that the system is broken down,” Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters said. “Without the ability to hold people, the police are at a disadvantage.”

Robert Gray, assistant executive officer of the Central Orange County Municipal Court, said his office has seen an increase in the number of people who fail to appear in court for misdemeanor cases since cities began releasing those suspects without bookings.

At one point, county officials estimated that booking fees could generate $8 million a year, but because of poor projections and exceptions to the policy, revenue has fallen far short of that goal. State and county law enforcement agencies, such as the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol, are exempt.

In addition, no arresting agency is billed if a judge orders a suspect booked into custody, officials said.

Still, cities and law enforcement agencies say the booking fee is not a cost they can easily afford, and they have begun looking at alternatives.

Santa Ana is building a temporary jail for about 100 inmates that is expected to open in early 1993. A larger, permanent jail with space for more than 400 prisoners will take its place, officials said.

Santa Ana officials have said the jail will help them save booking fee money. The city paid $1.1 million for booking fees in 1991-1992, 40% of all such fees paid in the county.