BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield City Council voted unanimously to explore housing low-level offenders after hearing a report on a familiar challenge: a lack of jail bed space that the city says is limiting its ability to hold people accountable.
City staff will set aside $4 million and bring back a plan to be discussed at a future date.
According to the report filed with the council, the city has added 100 more police officers and spends millions each year to address drug addiction, homelessness, and help people transition out of homelessness. Even so, the city says residents and businesses continue to deal with vandalism, theft, and more.
The central issue, according to the city, is that while it is arresting people committing these crimes, most are released within the day due to a lack of jail bed space, which limits the help it can provide.
"The city is invested, and we have the enforcement capacity. We're just not seeing the accountability side," said Christian Clegg, Bakersfield City Manager.
Since September 2025, the city has been discussing the topic as part of a task force analyzing bookings, diversion, different types of detention, and jail facilities, among other things. The goal is to determine whether the city could take up housing low-level offenders who are routinely released following Prop 36-eligible offenses, in an effort to hold people accountable and provide opportunities for treatment and diversion.
"It's not all about jail. We feel that it is more important for individuals to get treatment and to get help and to get the services that they need. But there are many individuals over the last decade who have had services available to them and have not taken advantage of those. And that lack of accountability is an important driver in encouraging and sometimes, you know, giving individuals a push to go and get the treatment that they need," said Clegg.
City Manager Christian Clegg ran the council through some of the specifics, including how much an undertaking like this would cost, whether the city has the jurisdiction to do it, and what the city would be liable for, such as upgraded insurance.
The council ultimately said it is willing to explore the task after a unanimous vote, even if it is a temporary venture.
"Seems to me that we have to move the needle somehow, and again I would repeat, like Mr. Clegg said, it's not just about locking people up. It's behavioral health," Bob Smith, Ward 4 Councilmember, said.
"I don't see us personally getting into the jail business. I would like to see us work something out in the future with the county, so that they can take over that," Larry Koman, Ward 5 Councilmember, said.
"It is something that I think we need to address. I fully support future research into this topic. I think there's more analysis that's going to be certainly required," Eric Arias, Ward 1 Councilmember, said.
City staff will set aside $4 million and bring back a plan to be discussed at a future date.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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