The Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a contract this week to fund and continue the "RIDE" program, a free shuttle program for inmates released from county detention centers.
The board's action at Tuesday's meeting keeps Riverside Inmate Destination Endeavor (RIDE) in action for at least 12 months at a cost of $500,000 with Finish Line Transport providing the taxi service. There is also the option for the county to renew its contract each year without any price increase until the 2026-27 year.
"The RIDE program provides the sheriff the ability to pay for the cost of transporting released inmates out of the local community and to their residence, resulting in preventing loitering and criminal activity in the local community," Supervisor Chuck Washington, representing District 3, said. "I just thought we should recognize that effort by the sheriff's department and let our communities know that we are supportive of this effort."
As a result of the RIDE program, Washington said the sheriff can get released inmates from county detention centers to their homes without a financial burden to his department. The program is particularly valuable when a ride is needed when it is after hours for public transportation.
The benefit to the county, he said, is crime prevention in local communities and no loitering.
While a vote for the RIDE program, the board's approval also demonstrates its backing for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Washington said.
According to Form 11 on the Riverside County Meeting Portal, the program first launched at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center (CBDC) in 2015. But in 2022, the Board of Supervisors voted to expand the program, the document said, to cover the Robert Presley Detention Center, Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, John J. Benoit Detention Center and Blythe Jail.
With the county jails at a walkable distance of several housing communities and business centers, the document reads, the RIDE program is seen as an assurance for residents that released inmates won't spike crime.
Financed through the county General Fund, the RIDE program will give inmates freed in 2023-24 vouchers for transportation costs valued at approximately $60 each, NBC Palm Springs reported. The program started out after residents and entrepreneurs in French Valley and Murrieta objected to former inmates getting released in the evening hours and hanging out near their properties, the article also said. Beyond loitering, it was said some released inmates acted aggressively and committed crimes like vandalism and theft.