While Flask said he does not support straight release, he did say a quick elimination of the policy undoubtedly would lead to trouble for the city. He said an overload of cases quickly would hit both city and county prosecutors. He also again mentioned the overcrowding at local jails. Withers echoed some of Flask's comments Tuesday. He said he understands Flask's dislike of straight release.
Nobody likes it.
Bottom line is, we have to make a choice of who to keep and who not to keep. Safety Director Henry Guzman has been ill and was not available for comment. However, it has been made necessary due to continuous overcrowding of our jails. While the issue of straight release took up much of last week's council hearing, the planned primary topic was the city's bulging jails. Jones strongly urged both council and the city administration to join the county in construction of a new centralized jail facility.