The following are letters from Littlerock Town Council President Ronald Bolger recently submitted to County of Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey and the Association of Rural Town Councils:
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3 April 2014
Ms. Jackie Lacey
District Attorney
County of Los Angeles
210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000
Los Angeles, California 90012
Dear Ms. Lacey:
We have a continuing interest in a dialog with you to provide ideas for such a plan and specific suggestions for solutions available to you as the Elected District Attorney.
Our previous attempt to open a dialog with you was our letter of November 19th 2013. Now in the first quarter of 2014 we see that the problems you spoke about have become worse. Actions speak louder than words and we believe that your managerial response could establish new policies and require better accountability throughout the ranks of your Deputy District Attorneys.
We are working in Littlerock to be responsive to our constituent neighbors who report to us extreme dissatisfaction with the status quo. Accordingly, we are confident that we can offer insights and provide specific recommendations that will probably be helpful with this complex problem.
So we now repeat ourselves: We would appreciate being able to meet with you to discuss these matters, either at an Antelope Valley location or your Office in Los Angeles, as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Ronald Bolger, President
Littlerock Town Council
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4 April 2014
Mr. Vance Pomeroy
Association of Rural Town Councils
Antelope Valley
Dear Mr. Pomeroy:
In reviewing the request for support for AB2534 sent by Supervisor Michael Antonovich and forwarded to our Town Council in turn, please be advised that the Littlerock Town Council and many citizens of the Community of Littlerock have expressed their opinion that we are not in favor of privatizing detention facilities.
Many issues concerning this approach to housing inmates have been addressed at our Council Meetings, and while we appreciate the costs involved and the overcrowding situation, guaranteeing inmate levels to a private contracted facility is just one of the concerns. Where would these facilities be located?
While the Supervisor is correct in his statement regarding sentences of serious crimes not being carried out, I would like to point out that the Antelope Valley has a perceived reputation of plea bargaining and jail time for the lowest level misdemeanor “crimes” such as land use “violations”.
Having been witness to arbitrary and capricious enforcement of “interpretive memos” and then having homeowners jailed as the misdemeanor “crime” is elevated to a criminal matter, would seem to only add to the incarceration rate.
Serious criminal activity deserves serious punishment, but having an inoperative vehicle (s) on your property or a storage container would be, in our opinion, a misuse of resources.
Recently, the District Attorney, Jackie Lacey lamented the number of people in the jail system and wondered how this problem could be addressed. Since the District Attorney is the Supervisor of the Deputy District Attorneys, and has failed to reply to our urging to meet with the community and discuss some possible solutions, many residents find the obvious fix for the problem as lacking real commitment from the County.
The policies in effect at present do not seem aligned with the message regarding public safety. In fact one high ranking official of Los Angeles County made a statement in 2010 during a radio broadcast, that all “violent felons and child molesters should be sent to the desert”. Is this to be the fate of our community? We certainly hope not.
For a number of reasons, we do not support private contracted prisons, jails or detention facilities, and suggest that a close look at the reasons for incarceration and alternatives thereto be reviewed first and that policies that result in low level misdemeanor jail sentencing be reviewed.
Sincerely,
Ronald Bolger, President
Littlerock Town Council