Proposed RivCo Jail Booking Fee Increase On Board's Agenda Tues.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors next week will consider whether to approve Sheriff Stan Sniff's request to hike the jail access fee charged to cities and other entities that book arrestees for misdemeanor offenses into one of the county's five detention facilities.

The sheriff is seeking a 10 percent increase in the booking fee, raising it from $514.58 to $561.61 per detainee, according to sheriff's documents posted to the board's policy agenda for Tuesday.

Officials noted that fees are not always applied thanks to state allocations under the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011. The county received more than $3 million in the current fiscal year to cover some jail processing costs, netting a savings to municipalities, college and special districts that use the county jail system.

However, when those entities exceed predetermined booking levels, based on three-year rolling averages, they owe the county, according to the sheriff's department.

"Applicable cost elements for the fee include all expenditures incurred during the booking ... including but not limited to searching, wrist- banding, bathing, clothing, fingerprinting, document preparation, medical and mental health screening, warrant service, inventory of an arrestee's property, laundry and storage of the arrestee's clothing and inmate classification," according to the sheriff's department.

The county bills entities once a year for the aggregate amounts due.

Felony bookings, as well as misdemeanor bookings specifically related to domestic violence and traffic violations, are not factored into the fee schedule, saving entities even more money, officials said.

The fee has elicited criticism in the past. But it's unknown whether anyone on Tuesday will be addressing the proposed increase.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock