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From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce a new transportation program for inmates released from the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. As part of this program, the Sheriff’s Office is providing inmates arrested in the outlying areas of the county the opportunity to have transportation back to the area where they were arrested. Inmates must meet the following criteria to be eligible for this program:

  • The inmate must have been booked into the facility with less than 5 dollars and/or does not have means to purchase a bus ticket.
  • The inmate must have been arrested outside the greater Eureka area. (This does not include Cutten, Myrtletown or Humboldt Hill.)

If the individual meets both criteria, they will be offered a public transportation bus ticket. The tickets are provided using funds from the Inmate Welfare Fund and are offered regardless of the time of release, affording released inmates the opportunity to return to their place of residence when the buses are operating.

This new transportation program affords more inmates the opportunity to return home upon release.

The Sheriff’s Office’s previous policy allowed for anyone arrested over 25 miles away from the correctional facility to receive a bus ticket upon request. Under the new program, that radius is much smaller and inmates are proactively offered the opportunity, rather than having to make a request.

During the first month of this program, the Sheriff’s Office has provided over 60 bus tickets to individuals arrested outside the greater Eureka area, allowing them a safe return home. The Sheriff’s Office is always looking for ways to assist inmates and reduce barriers for successful reentry into society. The new transportation program will help released inmates have a better chance to create a healthy lifestyle upon release.